Brazilian director Sergio Machado once worked as an assistant to Walter Salles, but fortunately, his new film as director, Lower City is alive in ways that Salles could not conceive.
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08/18/06
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Lower City (2006)
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Reviews Counted:53
Fresh:32
Rotten:21
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: This familiar story of a tension-fraught love triangle wavers between brutality and steamy sex.
Theatrical Release:Jun 16, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Steamy sex, glistening sweat, dark photography, grungy ghetto colors, and sudden violence pervade this Brazilian feature from director Sergio Machado. Alice Braga (CITY OF GOD) stars as Karinna, a... [More]
Starring: Alice Braga, José Dumont, Wagner Moura, Lazaro Ramos
Director: Sérgio Machado
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Reviews for Lower City
It's slick homogeneity, co-produced by Salles and co-funded by the Brazilian petroleum giant Petrobras, of a kind that commonly finds U.S. distribution while far better, riskier, more memorable films on the international table are ignored.
06/13/06
Top Criticnot quite enough to make this the explosive debut he no doubt was wishing for.
08/30/06
All three principals give gutsy, intuitive performances; they generate a juice of pure sexual need and [director Sergio] Machado's camera drinks it dry.
12/06/05
Machado allowed his actors plenty of space to internalize and create their moments, which consist of rage hidden behind subtleties, libidinous pressure at the edge of containment.
07/06/06
It's unlikely that even the most sophisticated or jaded of festival audiences will kindly endure the onslaught of viciousness on display.
09/26/05
Top CriticLower City is essentially an intimate, well-observed, compassionate film about what happens when lust gets in the way of friendship.
12/06/05
Another bracingly dynamic Brazilian drama that jolts us with raw authenticity, finding the universality of human experience in a violent, passionate setting.
08/26/05
Spunky performances and a dynamic, earthy style boost an otherwise predictable, albeit sexually-charged, latino love triangle.
04/01/06
The themes are all familiar and the plot unfolds slowly and in predictable ways, but there's plenty of heat generated by the three leads.
06/29/06
Top CriticMachado cleverly undercuts audience expectations and refuses to make moral judgements about the behaviour of the threesome, choosing instead to reveal their inner vulnerability and celebrate their capacity for defiant survival.
12/06/05
A steamy lust triangle that would be better if you didn't get the feeling that the guys were competing (kinda like in the cockfight) and Karinna is just the prize that goes to the victor.
08/18/06
Brazilian actress Alice Braga (niece of legendary Sonia Braga) is something special: beautiful and innocent without make-up, seasoned and hard in a pair of short shorts and a gold push-up bra.
06/23/06
Another fine example of Brazilian cinema at its best.
06/15/06
The setting is far more enticing than the story. Sometimes, that's enough.
08/18/06
The Monster's Ball Fan Club will surely get a kick out of Sérgio Machado's Lower City, another specious mix of febrile sex and faux race commentary.
06/09/06
Everyone involved in the film seems better than the material.
08/12/06
Top CriticThe result is something you've seen many times but never quite like this.
07/06/06
Top Critic'Hot' is the word for this look into the less touristy parts of Brazil.
05/30/06
Everything feels obvious and by-the-numbers, as if director and co-writer Sérgio Machado was constrained by archetypes and narrative tradition.
08/18/06
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