Pixote (1981)

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Directed by Hector Babenco.

Starring Fernando Ramos Da Silva, Jardel Filho, Jorge Juliano, Marilia Pera, Gilberto Moura.

The Brazilian Pixote so closely resembles the films of Luis Buñuel that one is almost shocked to see writer/director Hector Babenco's name on the credits. This is hardly the only shock in this near-hallucinatory cinematic experience. The title character, played by Fernando Ramos da Silva, has been abandoned by his parents and is scrounging for a living on the streets. Pixote survives by becoming a drug-dealer, pimp and murderer...and he's only ten years old. One of the first films to address the plight of Rio de Janeiro's street kids, Pixote combines stark realism with symbolic imagery. The film is based on José Louzeiro's novel Infancia dos Martos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Put Down That Frog and Step Away
by joem18b in joem18b Blog

hasn't rated it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"Before dealing with the end of the world as we know it, which this movie does not explicitly mention but which is lurking there in the unspoken background - before dealing with that, it being a pet peeve of mine, let me mention first an equally annoying pet peeve: many podcasters, the Spout podcasters occasionally among them, use the expression "begs the question" when they actually mean "raises the question." This error of diction has become so common in the U.S. today that it's probably useless to even mention it here, but since I heard it again on FilmCouch recently, let me remind those who might be unaware of it that "begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which an argument is assumed to be true without evidence other than the argument itself. Thank you. Meanwhile, back in the day, if you hated documentaries but had to write a paper on one, you could head down to Ninth and Trawler and catch The Nudist Story at the Jewel Box. The Nudist Story is the film where eve ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

Not since Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados has there been as savage and harrowing account of the plight of street kids or as damning a critique of Third World poverty and societal indifference. 10-year-old Pixote ("Pee Wee" in Portuguese) endures the brutalities of Brazil's repressive, corrupt reform schools, where military death squads and juvenile prison rape are the norm, only to flee to the dubious freedom of Sao Paolo's streets. Soon Pixote becomes a pimp, thief, and multiple murderer. Yet, through it all, the audience never loses sympathy for Pixote; director Hector Babenco makes clear that all Pixote wants and needs is a stable loving person in his life. Babenco's work is in the same spirit as the 1940s Italian Neorealists who coupled a realist style with a keen sense of social injustice. His visual style is documentary-like and almost artless--a straightforward depiction of events. His true artistic feat lies in his handling of his actors, most of whom were street kids in real life. The performance he gets out of amateur Fernando Ramos da Silva is astonishing. Not since Jean-Pierre Léaud's performance in The 400 Blows (1959) had a child actor delivered a performance so filled with sadness and pathos. Da Silva's large eyes, set off by his round baby face, speak of someone who has seen too much too soon. Pixote is a raw, heart-wrenching experience that will burn into the viewer's mind for a long time to come. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Tags: drugs , bum-hobo , prostituteprostitution , child , poverty
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