Cidade Baixa... a new City of God?

Photo courtesy of IMDB.com

Friends, it looks like it's definitely a R21 week for me, as I went to see another movie with this wonderfully exclusive rating. Last night I went and saw Cidade Baixa, which in English translates to "Lower City." The film was in Portuguese, and includes the producer and lead actress of the critically acclaimed film City of God. However, compared to the last reviewed film, this one definitely deserves it, with a bit too much generosity in the gratuitous sex department. In fact, it seems that every emotion in the movie is somehow tied to intercourse. A guy gets stabbed? Someone has sex. Good day at work? Have sex. Wind shifts a bit? You get the picture.

Aside from this, I guess the whole 'two guys fighting for a girl' thing can get some people going, although the gratuitous sex, in my book, is a bit excessive. There's not much plot development aside from emphasizing jealousy, rivalry, power, crime, sex, and life at the margins of society. The acting in the film isn't too bad, and there are several truly poignant moments. But, in the end, if one compares the film to City of God, which is inevitable given the way this film has been promoted, it just doesn't cut it in terms of being a deeply moving film. Then again, maybe it's me, since City of God was filled with Nietzschean undertones and the like, which, in my mind, adds an endless amount of kudos. This one, hmm, it just isn't there.

So, what's the moral of the story?

One phrase: Bros before hos. Watch the last scene of the film, with blood on one's hands, and that's what you really can get out of this. Oh yeah, and use protection.