ONE HOOKER, TWO GUYS MEANS TROUBLE.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic Your basic Brazilian sex movie, ``Lower City'' strives for what writer-director Sergio Machado likes to think of as authenticity. I'm not sure that so generic a narrative can ever be authentic. But if he's talking about persuasive, moment-to-moment behavior and grungy grun·gy adj. grun·gi·er, grun·gi·est Slang In a dirty, rundown, or inferior condition: grungy old jeans. [Origin unknown. waterfront atmosphere, he and his committed cast do a good sales job for this old-as-the-Bible tale of lust and jealousy. So appreciate the socio-emotional detailing, if you want. But don't feel you've missed a lot if you're repeatedly distracted by the three very attractive, often-undressed leads. It's this simple: Cute little hooker Karinna (Alice Braga, niece of the legendary Sonia) needs a lift to the northern Bahia state, where she's got a strip-club job waiting. Pals since childhood Deco (``Madame Sata's'' Lazaro Ramos) and Naldinho (``Behind the Sun's'' Wagner Moura) own a rusty old boat. She trades sex with both of them for a ride. Once they're tied up in the city of Salvador, she keeps on making love to each of them (between better-paying assignments, of course). Karinna can't decide which of the two friends she loves more. They get jealous and pretty much destroy their friendship over her. Petty crime, an involuntary manslaughter The act of unlawfully killing another human being unintentionally. Most unintentional killings are not murder but involuntary manslaughter. The absence of the element of intent is the key distinguishing factor between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. , some boxing matches, more stripping and sex, and there's your movie. Machado, a longtime assistant to ``Lower City's'' co-producer and Brazil's uber-filmmaker Walter Salles, says he researched this movie in the poorer districts of his native Bahia for two months. Two months, and what we've basically got is a dirtier, more feral feral untamed; often used in the sense of having escaped from domesticity and run wild. ``Jules and Jim.'' Yet as universal as the plot may be, it must be said that Karinna, Deco and Naldinho's longings, resentments, economic desperation and confusions are unnervingly palpable Easily perceptible, plain, obvious, readily visible, noticeable, patent, distinct, manifest. The term palpable usually refers to some type of egregious wrong, such as a governmental error or abuse of power. throughout. It all leads up to a final, seething seethe intr.v. seethed, seeth·ing, seethes 1. To churn and foam as if boiling. 2. a. To be in a state of turmoil or ferment: confrontation that is as intense as it is rawly kinetic. Plus, you know, lots of the stuff you go to Brazilian movies for. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss@dailynews.com LOWER CITY - Three stars (R: sex, nudity, violence, drug use, language) Starring: Alice Braga, Lazaro Ramos, Wagner Moura. Director: Sergio Machado. Running time: 1 hr. 37 min. Playing: Laemmle Town Center 5, Encino; Laemmle Playhouse 7, Pasadena; Laemmle Sunset 5, West Hollywood West Hollywood A community of southern California northeast of Beverly Hills. It is mainly residential. Population: 36,600. ; Landmark Westside Pavilion The Westside Pavilion is a shopping mall located in West Los Angeles. It is owned and operated by The Macerich Company. It is a three story urban-style shopping mall with 150 shops and is anchored by a Macy's (formerly May Company and later Robinsons-May) and a Nordstrom. , West L.A.; Edwards University Town Center 6, Irvine. In a nutshell: Two friends who operate a small boat fall in love with the same prostitute. And fall out, unsurprisingly, in this predictable but passionate and sexy Brazilian film. In Portuguese with English subtitles sub·ti·tle n. 1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work. 2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen. tr.v. . |
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