Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco (1981)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Hector Babenco

Writers:

José Louzeiro (book) and
Hector Babenco (writer)

Release Date:

5 May 1982 (France)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Plot:

The life of a boy in the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with little crimes, prostitution, etc

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Runaway | 10 Year Old | Corruption | Violence

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 7 wins

Cast

Fernando Ramos da Silva	...	Pixote
Jorge Julião	...	Lilica
Gilberto Moura	...	Dito
Edilson Lino	...	Chico
Zenildo Oliveira Santos	...	Fumaça
Claudio Bernardo	...	Garatao
Israel Feres David	...	Roberto Pie de Plata
Jose Nilson Martin Dos Santos	...	Diego
Marília Pêra	...	Sueli
Jardel Filho	...	Sapatos Brancos
Rubens de Falco	...	Juiz
Elke Maravilha	...	Debora
Tony Tornado	...	Cristal
Beatriz Segall	...	Widower
João José Pompeo	...	Almir (as Joáo José Pompeu)

Also Known As:

Pixote
Pixote, the Law of the Weakest (USA)
The Survival of the Weakest (USA) (subtitle)

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:(Banned) (original rating) | Australia:R (re-rating after appeal) | UK:18 (cut) | West Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Avenida Paulista, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Company:

Embrafilme

Trivia:

The film's star, 'Fernando Ramos Da Silva', who plays a young street criminal, actually was a street criminal before he made this film. After completing it he took up the criminal life again, and was killed in Brazil in 1987 in a shootout with police.

Movie Connections:

References Los olvidados (1950)

If this doesn't get to you, you must be made of stone.

This is a difficult movie to watch, and would have been even more difficult had I known then that the actor playing the protagonist was in fact killed in his home by police at age 19. Pixote (PeeWee) is a street kid in Sao Paulo who is caught in a roundup triggered by a murder in which he had no involvement. He is committed to a juvenile prison where he witnesses brutality and exploitation that ordinary citizens try very hard to believe doesn't exist. When finally he escapes, he and three comrades survive by the only means they know, which is crime. What makes the film so heart-rending is that both Pixote and the actor portraying him clearly do not wish to be the characters life circumstances have made them. Pixote tries to trust and to love and to bond, but there simply is no room in his world for the gentle side of human nature. One is left at the end wanting desperately to do something for the Pixotes of the world, but what? Building more children's's prisons with higher walls surely is not the answer...