Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco (Pixote) (Pixote, the Law of the Weakest) poster & wallpaper

Fernando Ramos Da Silva, Jorge Julião, Gilberto Moura

Hector Babenco's scathing and heartbreaking story of Pixote (Fernando Ramos Da Silva), a sweet-looking streetwise 10-year-old boy who is one of the three million homeless children living on the street...( read more  read more... )s of São Paulo, Brazil, is based on the novel A infância dos mortos (The Childhood of the Dead Ones) by José Louzeiro.

Forced to endure brutal conditions at a prison-like reform school, Pixote befriends Lilica (Jorge Juliano), an older transvestite; her boyfriend, Dito (Gilberto Moura); and young charmer Chico (Edilson Lino). Together the four escape the reform school and struggle to survive in a desolate world of poverty and violence. Traveling in the underworlds of São Paulo and Rio, the makeshift family of boys turns to a life of petty crime for financial support. Homeless, the boys are forced to endure hunger and extreme danger as they begin dealing drugs and eventually end up working with Sueli, a burnt-out prostitute (Marília Pêra in a devastatingly powerful performance) who seduces her johns while the boys rob them at gunpoint.

This gritty and painful examination of Brazil's forgotten children is reminiscent of Luis Buñuel's film about urban poverty and juvenile delinquency, Los Olvidados, while the character of Pixote, played by real-life homeless boy Da Silva, is a direct descendant of François Truffaut's unforgettable protagonist Antoine Doinel from Les Quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows). Babenco's use of a largely nonprofessional cast and a powerful story combines to make one of the most haunting portrayals of childhood ever filmed. Furthering the film's relevance is the sad note that Da Silva died only a few years after starring in the film -- shot by police who mistook him for a criminal. In 1996, Quem Matou Pixote? (Who Killed Pixote?), a biographical drama about the life and death of Fernando Ramos Da Silva, was released.

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90% liked it

1,487 ratings

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100% liked it

9 critics

R, 2 hrs. 2 min.

Directed by: Hector Babenco

Release Date: May 5, 1981

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DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001

Stats: 118 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (118)

  • ahhh1989
    August 16, 2009
    ahhh1989
    Gritty, twisted, heart wrenching, and truly unforgettable.
  • ronansprake
    August 4, 2009
    ronansprake
    Not always coherent, but powerful. Grittier and (tragically) more believable than City of God
  • exureimundo
    July 10, 2009
    exureimundo
    Brilliant and totally moving. The children in this movie were extremely talented.
  • kyo9
    February 10, 2009
    kyo9
    wow.. incredibly made.. the boy's act is truly briliant.. the story line is also very good..
  • pRIDEqUEST
    January 16, 2009
    pRIDEqUEST
    wATCHED iT fOR tHE fIRST tIME lAST nIGHT, aND sUCH sADNESS, bECAUSE sTILL tODAY, tHIS iS sTILL hAPPENING. dEF a mOVIE tO wATCH!
  • hypathio7
    January 15, 2009
    hypathio7
    want to see this because it won best foreign-language film with the LAFC and was nominated for best foreign film by NBR and at the golden globes
  • kikyluvgwen
    March 20, 2008
    kikyluvgwen
    pixote is clearly one of well-made documentaries about juveniles in slump area in Sao Paolo, Brazil. A story about a young boy named Pixote who at 19 was brutally murdered by corrupted police. The film you can think about how fortunate you are living in a everything-is-available...( read more) community.
  • aleksei96
    December 22, 2007
    aleksei96
    City of God without the bells and whistles, this hard but understanding look at the sideways of life is a tough one to watch.
  • indigitavel
    June 26, 2007
    indigitavel
    Pixote - A Lei do Mais Fraco
    cinema Nacional

View All Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco (Pixote) (Pixote, the Law of the Weakest) Reviews

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