Lower City

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Lower City

R

2005

1h 50m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

55 Reviews

57%

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10,000+ Ratings

Best friends Deco (Lázaro Ramos) and Naldinho (Wagner Moura) co-own a cargo boat in Brazil's Salvador de Bahia. They give a ride to a sultry prostitute named Karinna (Alice Braga), and soon both men fall prey to her considerable sexual charms, pushing the bonds of their friendship to the limit.

Critics Consensus

This familiar story of a tension-fraught love triangle wavers between brutality and steamy sex.

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Sight & Sound

A likeable and accomplished addition to the Latin American new wave.

Sep 28, 2006

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

The toastiest summer on record is but an intermittently flickering 40-watt bulb when held up to the positively incendiary sexual firestorm that is Brazilian import Lower City.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 26, 2006

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Tom Keogh

Seattle Times

Everything feels obvious and by-the-numbers, as if director and co-writer Srgio Machado was constrained by archetypes and narrative tradition.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 18, 2006

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Kam Williams

University City Review

A gritty, Brazilian drama which called for Alice Braga to be naked and in heat nearly non-stop, whether in a bed with a boyfriend or one of her assortedy Johns.

Rated: 4/4

Jun 16, 2007

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Doris Toumarkine

Film Journal International

The meager plot is no more than a clothesline upon which to hang some heated sex scenes and ugly violence.

Mar 1, 2007

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Urban Cinefile Critics

Urban Cinefile

There are sections of the screenplay that lead nowhere and I also find the ending makes the film rather incomplete. Yet it's a gripping work, and a powerful journey while it lasts.

Nov 24, 2006

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Lúcio Leonardo P

Entertainment that uses a structure already stereotypically used in several novels, with a simple and predictable trajectory, with situations that should say/report something but don't, with any Soundtrack and not even a memorable Photograph, which in the long 100 minutes “ lives” abusing and using the theatrical quality of its protagonists to “hold the bar”, not only in the exceptional interpretation but also in the beauty of its nuances or naked body, all to narrate the “tale of the ménage” that takes place in the lower city.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/18/24

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Will M

uma amizade é colocada a prova com a chegada de uma paixão improvável, um bom filme com um final insuficiente.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/03/24

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Audience Member

(***): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Interesting and with a good cast.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

a look at the seedy side of life in brazil

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

Expected much more from it as the story was depicted quite powerfully and went on well...till the ending came suddenly which totally lacked completion ...don't know if that was the idea or the writer/director ran out of ideas

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Beautifully shot beautiful people having beautiful sex and sometimes indulging in beautiful violence. And that is all it needs to be.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

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Sérgio Machado

Director

Alice Braga

Karinna

Lázaro Ramos

Deco

Wagner Moura

Naldinho

Harildo Deda

Careca

José Dumont

Sergipano

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Critical Consensus: Soggy "Nacho," Aimless "Drift," Untidy "House"

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Synopsis

Best friends Deco (Lázaro Ramos) and Naldinho (Wagner Moura) co-own a cargo boat in Brazil's Salvador de Bahia. They give a ride to a sultry prostitute named Karinna (Alice Braga), and soon both men fall prey to her considerable sexual charms, pushing the bonds of their friendship to the limit.

Director: Sérgio Machado
Producer: Walter Salles
Screenwriter: Sérgio Machado, Karim Aïnouz, Adriana Rattes
Production Co: Videofilmes, Buena Onda
Rating: R (Nudity|Language|Drug Use|Some Violence|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Brazilian Portuguese
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jun 16, 2006
Release Date (DVD): Sep 12, 2006
Box Office (Gross USA): $130.6K
Runtime: 1h 50m