''Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco'' (, lit. "Pixote (small child): The Law of the Weakest") is a 1980 Brazilian

crime drama film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...

directed by

Héctor Babenco Héctor Eduardo Babenco (February 7, 1946July 13, 2016) was an Argentine-Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who worked in several countries including Brazil, Argentina, and the United States. He was one of the first Braz ...

. The screenplay was written by Babenco and Jorge Durán, based on the book ''A Infância dos Mortos'' (''The Childhood of the Dead Ones'') by José Louzeiro. The film is a

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...

account of Brazil's lower classes youth exposure to

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

and

police corruption Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which a law enforcement officer breaks their political contract and abuses their power for personal gain. A corrupt officer may act alone or as part of a group. Corrupt acts include taking ...

. The film features Fernando Ramos da Silva (who was killed at the age of 19 by Brazilian police in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

) as Pixote and Marília Pêra as Sueli. The plot revolves around Pixote, a young boy who is used as a child criminal in muggings and drug transport. The film was selected as the Brazilian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 54th Academy Awards, but it was disqualified. In 2015, the Brazilian Film Critics Association (Abraccine) voted ''Pixote'' the 12th greatest Brazilian film of all time, in its list of the 100 best Brazilian films.

Plot

After a police round up of street children, Pixote a 10-year-old boy is sent to a juvenile reformatory (FEBEM). The prison is a hellish school where Pixote uses glue sniffing as a means of emotional escape from the constant threats of abuse and rape. It soon becomes clear that the young criminals are only pawns in the criminal, sadistic games of the prison guards and their commander. When a boy dies of physical abuse by the police, the officials frame (and ultimately kill) another child, the unnamed lover of the

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

known as Lilica, for the murder. Soon after, Pixote, his friend Chico, Lilica and her new lover Dito find an opportunity to flee from the prison. First, they stay at the apartment of Cristal, a former lover of Lilica, but when tensions arise after Dito rejects Cristal's sexual advances, they go to Rio for a cocaine drug deal; there, however, they get duped by showgirl Débora. After some time bumming around the city, Pixote and his friends go to a club for another drug deal. While there, Pixote finds Débora and, after an argument, stabs her. Chico is accidentally killed in the struggle. The group become pimps for the prostitute Sueli who is definitely past her prime and is ill — possibly from a botched abortion. They conspire to rob her clients, but when Lilica's lover Dito falls for Sueli, Lilica leaves. The robbery scheme fails when an American client fights back (because he apparently does not understand Portuguese) and they shoot him. In the ensuing fight, Pixote accidentally shoots and kills Dito as well. Pixote tries to gain comfort from Sueli, treating her as a mother figure by sucking on her breast, but she rejects him out of disgust. He leaves and walks down a railway line, gun in hand, disappearing in the distance.

Cast

* Fernando Ramos da Silva as Pixote * Jorge Julião as Lilica * Gilberto Moura as Dito * Edilson Lino as Chico * Zenildo Oliveira Santos as Fumaça * Claudio Bernardo as Garatao * Israel Feres David as Roberto Pie de Plata * Jose Nilson Martin dos Santos as Diego * Marília Pêra as Sueli * Jardel Filho as Sapatos Brancos * Rubens de Falco as Juiz *

Elke Maravilha Elke Maravilha ( Grünupp; 22 February 1945 – 16 August 2016) was a German-Brazilian actress, model and television personality. She lived in Brazil from her early childhood until her death. Biography Maravilha was born to a Latvian father a ...

as Debora * Tony Tornado as Cristal * Beatriz Segall as Widower * João José Pompeo as Almir

Background

Casting

The movie is shot in the manner of a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

and shows the strong influence by

Italian neorealism Italian neorealism (), also known as the Golden Age of Italian Cinema, was a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They p ...

in that amateur actors were used whose real lives strongly resembled those of the protagonists in the film.

Filming locations

It was filmed in

and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. The film features several scenes of Rio's beaches. Historical places in São Paulo like 'Viaduto Santa Ifigênia' and the statue 'Monumento às Bandeiras' (at the Ibirapuera Park) are seen throughout the film.

Release

The film was first presented at the New Directors/New Films Festival in New York City on 5 May 1981. It later opened on a limited basis in the United States on 11 September 1981. The film was screened at various film festivals, including the

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; , ) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spain, Spanish city of Donostia, Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Countr ...

, Spain; the Toronto Festival of Festivals, Canada; the Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland; and others.

Reception

Critical response

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

, who wrote for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

,'' considered the film a classic, and wrote, "''Pixote'' stands alone in Babenco's work, a rough, unblinking look at lives no human being should be required to lead. And the eyes of Fernando Ramos da Silva, his doomed young actor, regard us from the screen not in hurt, not in accusation, not in regret - but simply in acceptance of a desolate daily reality." Critic

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...

was impressed by its raw, documentary-like quality, and a certain poetic realism. She wrote, "Babenco's imagery is realistic, but his point of view is shockingly lyrical.

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

writers, such as

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

, seem to be in perfect, poetic control of madness, and Babenco has some of this gift, too. South American artists have to have it, in order to express the texture of everyday insanity." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' film critic,

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

, liked the neo-realist acting and direction of the drama, and wrote, "'' ixote'' the third feature film by the Argentine-born Brazilian director Hector Babenco, is a finely made, uncompromisingly grim movie about the street boys of São Paulo, in particular about Pixote - which, according to the program, translates roughly as ''Peewee''...The performances are almost too good to be true, but Mr. Da Silva and Miss Pera are splendid. ''Pixote'' is not for the weak of stomach. A lot of the details are tough to take, but it is neither exploitative nor pretentious. Mr. Babenco shows us rock-bottom, and because he is an artist, he makes us believe it as well all of the possibilities that have been lost." Filmmakers

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company is Mirabai Films. Among her films are '' Mississippi Masala'', '' The Namesake'', the Golden Lion–winning '' Monsoon Wedding'', ...

Harmony Korine Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor, photographer, artist, and author. His methods feature an erratic, loose and transgressive aesthetic, exploring taboo themes and incorporating experimental techniques,Alicia Kn ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

, and the

Safdie brothers Josh Safdie, Joshua Henry Safdie (born April 3, 1984) and Benny Safdie, Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) are independent American filmmakers and actors based in New York City, who frequently collaborate on their films. They are best know ...

have cited it as being among their favorite films.

Awards and nominations

Although it was accepted as the Brazilian submission for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

it was later disqualified since it was test marketed in Brazil before the allowable date. Wins *

: OCIC Award - Honorable Mention; Hector Babenco; 1981. * Locarno International Film Festival: Silver Leopard; Hector Babenco; 1981. *

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List ...

: LAFCA Award; Best Foreign Film; 1981. *

New York Film Critics Circle Awards The New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) is an American film critic organization founded in 1935 by Wanda Hale from the New York ''Daily News''. Its membership includes over 30 film critics from New York–based daily and weekly newspapers, ma ...

: NYFCC Award; Best Foreign Language Film; 1981. * Boston Society of Film Critics Awards: BSFC Award; Best Actress, Marília Pêra; Best Film; 1982. * National Society of Film Critics Awards, USA: NSFC Award Best Actress, Marília Pêra; 1982. Nominations *

National Board of Review of Motion Pictures The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the awards season, film award ...

(US), Best Foreign Language Film; 1981. * Golden Globes: Golden Globe, Best Foreign Film, Brazil; 1982.

References

External links

*
''Pixote''
at Film Reference
''Pixote''
film scene at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

''Pixote: Out in the Streets''
an essay by Stephanie Dennison at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

{{Brazilian submission for Academy Awards 1980 films 1980 crime drama films 1980 independent films 1980 LGBTQ-related films 1980s Brazilian films 1980s LGBTQ-related drama films 1980s Portuguese-language films 1980s prison drama films Brazilian crime drama films Brazilian independent films Brazilian LGBTQ-related films Films about juvenile delinquency Films about prostitution in Brazil Films about social realism Films about trans women Films directed by Héctor Babenco Films set in Rio de Janeiro (city) Films set in São Paulo Films shot in Rio de Janeiro (city) LGBTQ-related crime drama films