mario_c It's a drama about a love triangle's story of two friends which both fall in love with a prostitute. DECO (played by Lázaro Ramos) and NALDINHO (Wagner Moura) are two best friends which live, like brothers, in a boat. One day they meet KARINNA (Ana Braga) and give her a ride to Salvador, agreeing in the middle to have sex with her (she's a prostitute). But what they weren't expecting is that they will both fall in love with her, and she with them, both. There it starts a confusing and dangerous love triangle where no one wants to be the weakest link, but where any one of them has something to lose… This film is interesting because it characterizes some social groups behind this love triangle, portraying them with crudeness but also veracity. I think the main characters are well chosen and the actors too, but even so I think these characters should have had a better development and the acting could have been a little better at parts.(Spoilers) In a film like this I wasn't expecting an open ending, like the one it has. On one hand it's nice, because I appreciate open stories, especially those which make you think about it, and almost "forces" you to create your own alternative ending; but on the other hand I think some explanations should have been given to the viewer. It ends almost in a poetic way, but we get nothing about their choices. It literally ends in the climax, providing us no conclusion at all! (End Spoilers)I did appreciate this movie, but, globally, I think it could have been a little better. I score it 6/10.

anasamas Lower City has several problems, the primary being that the story is a tired retread. We've seen it all before..the financial desperation causing people to do anything to survive, and an old fashioned love triangle. Director Sergio Machado brings nothing fresh to these well-worn story threads. Another complaint is although the film was shot in Salvador Brazil, we barely see any of the CITY in Lower City. Most of the film takes place on a boat or within the interiors of clubs, hotel rooms, and apartments. Another major fault lies in the fact that there is little to like about the three main characters. The men practice misogyny, rob, steal, and enjoy watching a good cock fight in their down time. The woman is a career prostitute. I felt quite detached from these characters rather early in the film. The ending was one that most could clearly see coming up Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue).What DID work was the sexual chemistry between the three leads. The love scenes were passionate and convincing. I only wish the rest of the film had the same energy.5/10

debblyst Reading the IMDb comments from non-Brazilian reviewers, I get the impression "Cidade Baixa" has been mismarketed internationally -- it's far from the ambition, impact, range or scope of "City of God" or "Central Station". It's rather a modest chamber movie about a love triangle setting apart lifelong friends Deco (the incredibly overrated Lázaro Ramos, here in a one-note-so-minimalist-it's-really-lifeless performance) and Naldinho (intense, charismatic Wagner Moura) over the sexual attention and ultimately the "true" love of stripper Karinna (newcomer Alice Braga, sexy, lovely, inexperienced and unconvincing).Director Sérgio Machado's only previous solo feature effort was "Onde a Terra Acaba", a well-researched documentary on Brazilian legendary filmmaker Mário Peixoto and his single finished film, the 1931 classic "Limite". Like many directors who cross the bridge from documentaries to fiction, Machado here is completely taken over by "the magic of acting". While Machado's undisguised fascination with his three lead stars is overwhelming, the characters in "Cidade Baixa" lack real essence -- the emotional outbursts are there, but the motivations are never clear. The great performance and best designed character comes from veteran José Dumont: he creates a multi-layered, throbbing character in five minutes and has more truth and energy than the three stars combined.The plot is painfully predictable, it has been told before (and better) countless times. The film's ultimate point -- that a threesome is as good an arrangement as any -- is only shyly hinted at, and probably won't come across for many viewers, but the sexual tension is tangible the whole time. The film is professionally accomplished, but I'm not sure the director's choice for claustrophobic settings and overuse of close-up shots is helpful to the story-- indeed it's a shame that we hardly get to see the open spaces and the entrancing population of Cidade Baixa (the lower part of the city of Salvador, capital of Bahia), which, after all, is the title of the movie! If you blink, you'll miss the falling-to-pieces but still impressive colonial architecture, and you may not see the low-life poverty and fight-for-life vibrancy typical of that neighborhood, because the camera only has eyes for the three stars. Even the Lacerda elevator (the architectural landmark that divides the Lower from Upper City) is seen but for a few seconds. And, for those of us who know and love Salvador for its magical spiritual and carnal energy, the life-affirming music, the irrepressible live-and-let-live savoir-vivre, it's really hard to believe how grim, bleak and sullen all these characters are.Anyway, the film is never boring, has some good scenes and it's thankfully unpretentious, but the loose ending can be a letdown for many viewers. Maybe next time the talented but still unimposing Sérgio Machado will find a finer balance to his elements, adding a thicker, less tired plot and widening his framings to fully explore his locations, all of which deserves his attention as much as his cast.

angelinatano I just watched this movie and I absolutely loved it. There was raw real emotion that kept me glued to screen the entire 98 minutes. There was never a dull moment. The actors were great and the emotion that they portrayed was so realistic. I think the director did a great job at showing us that it is possible for someone to be in love with two people and it was interesting how there was an equal level of love between all three members of the triangle.This film also had some very steamy sex scenes which made me blush a little :) I highly recommend this movie if you are into drama and emotion and turmoil and just high emotions.