Cidade Baixa Review

Cidade Baixa: Passion and Violence

Latin American film is generally characterized as being very crude in nature, by repeatedly displaying scenes of misery and helplessness. These films are usually either a form of entertainment for the public, or a call for reform to a specific government. Regardless of the intended message of the director, it is clear that most Latin America filmography reflects the vast poverty, insecurity, and lack of education in this part of the world.

The movie Cidade Baixa (Portuguese for “Lower City”), directed by Sergio Machado, is an accurate representation of the humble and uncouth lifestyle of the people in Salvador de Bahia’s Lower City. Machado stresses the themes of violence and sex to such degree that it becomes disturbing to the audience, and therefore serves as a strong political message to the government of Brazil.

Throughout the plot, Deco (a Brazilian of African descent) and Naldinho meet a prostitute called Karina. Both men offer to take her to Salvador de Bahia, in exchange for money and sex. Before, reaching the Lower City, Naldinho is stabbed by a drunk man in a bar, leaving Deco and Karina no choice but to hurry and take him to a doctor in Bahia. Fortunately, Naldinho survives, strengthening the bond between the three of them. Throughout the movie, this friendship evolves into an awkward, yet passionate love triangle, resulting in a fierce rivalry between Deco and Naldinho to keep Karina.

One ironic aspect of this movie is that, right at the start, Naldinho tells Deco that “all the women in the world couldn't come between us.” It is obvious that such a strong claim is destroyed by the mere intrusion of a prostitute. The fact that Deco and Naldinho decide to keep Karina permanently in their lives shows how insecure they both feel of being alone, and not having an easy form of access to a woman’s company and sexual intimacy, even though they believe they are well off by themselves....