Customer Reviews

Pixote

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is perhaps one of the most accurate depictions of life on the streets for millions of homeless, and parentless, children around the world. Vivid. Hard-hitting. Certainly not for the weak of stomach. Pixote tells the straight story of a young child's search for "familia", security and the realization of every child's dream for opportunity...... and of the sex, drugs, loneliness, violence and brutality that he finds instead in the streets. A great learning tool for students, social workers, law enforcement and those in the ministry: you will NEVER view street children the same after watching this. (...)

I saw this film in the theater as a first release movie and still remember its disturbing images to this day. While most movies show the innocent dream world we like to think children live in, Pixote slithers and crawls through a dark and surreal world unknown to most of us -- yet it is a world with recondite beauty because Pixote knows no other. We see things happen that would be totally unacceptable in the antiseptic world of civilization but our little protagonists does not seem to see his world as anything but normal. With the self-survival morals of any jungle animal, he goes about his day-to-day life. And this juxtaposing of morals leads to a little bit of an internal conflict with the viewer before the end of the movie. I highly recommend this film to anyone but would warn you that if the "Pollyanna" world of children is what you think exists and want to see, this film with keep you awake for quiet a few nights.

Hector Babenco's tale of homeless children in Brazil is devastating. Must rank with some of the great films ever.

The film stars 10-year old Fernando Ramos da Silva, who was an illiterate kid plucked from the streets of Sao Paulo. At the beginning of the film, a judge has been murdered and kids are rounded up and sent to a reformatory. Pixote witnesses a brutal rape his first night. He quickly adapts to the chaotic and often inhumane atmosphere. Corrupt police pin the crime on one of Pixote's friends and brutally murder him. They pin his murder on a second friend, and proceed to kill him.

Pixote and friends escape to the streets of Sao Paulo where they resume their life of crime. The friends are Lillica, a transvestite soon to turn 18, Dito, Lillica's lover and ring-leader, and Chico. The friends meet Cristal, a drug dealer who sends them to Rio to sell cocaine. A drug deal gone awry costs Chico his life and Pixote kills the perpetrator, a prostitute named Debora. The three boys hook up with another prostitute named Sueli, played by Marilia Pera in an unforgettable performance.

There is a sadness in Pixote's eyes that is unforgettable. He accepts his descent into hell in a matter-of-fact manner. Viewers will have difficulty deciding whether he sympathetic or not. He is only ten, has a baby face, and faces horrible circumstances. At the same time, he is an eager participant in the crimes that take place. The portrayal of what Brazil's awful conditions do to the young and innocent is heartbreaking.

PIXOTE: THE SURVIVAL OF THE WEAKEST
[Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco]

(Brazil - 1981)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Theatrical soundtrack: Mono

Hector Babenco's third feature provides a harrowing and squalid glimpse into an alien culture beset by an all-consuming poverty. Chronicling the life and crimes of ten-year-old homeless boy Pixote (pronounced 'Pi-chott' or 'Pi-chott-ay', and played with remarkable sincerity by non-professional actor Fernando Ramos da Silva) in the slums of Sao Paulo, it follows him down the path of petty thievery to his brief stay in a reformatory where violence is a way of life, to his eventual escape and descent into murder. The only shafts of light are provided by his friends, fellow outcasts whose attempts to rise above their appalling circumstances are almost inevitably doomed to failure, and by an alcoholic prostitute (the luminous Marilia Pera) who unwittingly precipitates their downfall. In the end, only one of the characters emerges from the debris, returning to the slums where life - such as it is - goes on much the same as before. It isn't a pretty picture, nor can it ever be.

Though depressing and unlikeable, PIXOTE is virtually critic-proof. Based on a novel by Jose Louzeiro, Babenco's film offers an outraged response to the crushing hardships suffered by millions of homeless street kids in Sao Paulo who turn to crime to sustain themselves and are exploited by criminal gangs because of a loophole in Brazilian law which forbids the prosecution of minors. Most scandalous of all are the corrupt police officers who participate in the murder of countless street children every year, treating it as a form of 'pest control'. If nothing else, PIXOTE refuses to flinch from the reality of these terrible circumstances, depicting rape, murder, glue-sniffing and robbery with an uncompromising level of detail.

However, those seeking exploitation are advised to look elsewhere - these events are outlined against a backdrop of misery and ruined aspirations, in a crumbling landscape where even the smallest flicker of hope can be cruelly extinguished at any given moment. Worse still, despite the film's campaigning nature and its international theatrical success, these conditions still exist in Brazil today, and Ramos da Silva - whose social standing mirrored that of the character he played - ultimately succumbed to its worst excesses: Unable to escape the bonds of poverty which prevented him from realizing his dreams, he turned to crime and was murdered in 1987, allegedly by local police. His life and death was subsequently dramatized by director Jose Joffily in WHO KILLED PIXOTE? (1996).

Disturbingly realistic fictional tale of a south american street urchin. Considered damnable and pornographic in some circles for its depiction of child rape, prostitution, and murder. DaSilva's paradoxical portrayal of the baby-faced Pixote sends an apocalyptic "this could happen here given the circumstances" warning to all cultures and strata of society. The fatalistic "life-imitating-art" eventuality of actor DaSilva's real-life death in a police shootout a scant few years after the release of "Pixote" adds a chilling footnote that underscores the film's social commentary.

This is one of the best movies ever made. If you take it seriously, if you realize it's an accurate portrayal of life for many children in South America, it will change your view of the world. Anyone interested in children's rights, orphans, poverty, Latin America, or foreign and non-traditional cinema should see this movie.

This film, in my opinions, embodies the expression "packing a punch." It is an unbelievable viewing experience. The film takes place in the slums of Brazil, where we are shown the poverty and crime which surrounds millions of Brazilian children. This over populated country provides a backdrop unlike any other you are likely to see. The story follows 11 year old Pixote ("pee wee") as he is brought into a youth correctional facility, his escape and ultimately his meeting with fate. The film is an inescapable tragedy which becomes even more disturbing when knowing that the actor who played Pixote died at such a young age and in such a violent way. This film serves as a testament to the unwanted price many children face, and how minute our day to day problems suddenly seem after watching such a work of uncompromised art.

This cult movie meant the major achievement of his master brazilian director Hector Babienco .
Inspired in the deepest roots of this ancient artistic movement the italian neo realism (in honor the first sample of this artistic category was born with a Jean Renour film of 1934 : Tony), Babenco camera literally is a merciless eye which scrutinizes every little detail and the unboreable atmosphere of the painful childhood in the streets of Brazil . In this case Fernando Ramos Da Silva (Pixote) made a glamorous debut as actor , where he becomes in adult without having lived his deserved childhood dreams and normal illusions of this age .
The cruelty will be its fellow partner ; so the world of the crime , prostitution , drugs and crookness will be the eternal friends in his miserable existence .
Fernado Ramos could never abandon such life level and years later he died victim of several shots in one of these countless favelas (this is the brazilian therm which designs the poorest neighborhood on the hills of the city).
The four most remarkable films which I remind closer to this in which its powerful and merciless social realism concerns are Salaam Bombay of Mira Nair 1989 ; Brutti , sporchi e cattivi a little gem of 1976 directed by Ettore Scola ; the other one is Mamma Roma of Pier Paolo Pasolini of the early sixties and that unforgettable film of Roberto Roselini Germania Anno Zero of the middle forties.
This film won the prize as Best Foreign Film of the L.A. Films Citics Association and the New York Film Critics of 1981 .
Babenco was the lone star of the brazilian filmography in the eighties . He would be the director of that painful Ironweed with Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.

Pixote is an excellent dramatic review of the children stuck in the poor social class of Brazil. Some scenes are very graphic but are important portrayals of what street dwelling kids in the Sau Paulo area experience. The use of ordinary teenagers to demonstrate this cruel situation is important for viewers to make an honest attempt to imagine this life. Many people are not aware of the awful conditions and the directors do an excellent job shining light on the pains of poor children. Upon the completion of this film, it is especially difficult to contemplate the extreme differences among social classes when considering the trajic ending of Fernando Ramos de Canby who played the role of Pixote. In the movie, Pixote has long given up hope of a stable life and joins the brotherhood of similar souls at the reformitory. He is crying for help however society has already given up and only chose to further punish these throw-away kids. There is no escaping to a happy ending but instead only fate itself will rule their distressing destiny. I truely recommend this film to anyone who is interested in experiencing a cinematic view of the violence, corruption, abuse, and poverty faced by the many unfortunate souls who participate in this lifestyle daily. Keep in mind the age of the viewer. Some scenes definitely are not for small children's eyes.

Before diving into the meat of this emotionally disturbing drama, I must ask whether or not the same results could have been achieved by opting for less graphic depictions of the material presented. Remember, this movie is about the life of a ten year old street kid named Pixote (pronounced pee-SHOT) seeing through the eyes of a ten year old street kid, and I don't think the events depicted here could be expressed any more clearly in any other way. How are we to know how shocking his life is unless we are shocked by what he has to live through?

I finished watching this movie without thinking too much about it. The story itself kind of drags from time to time, but I found myself still thinking about it almost a week later. I keep thinking about Pixote's eyes. They are so disturbed yet calm, deep yet shallow, inquisitive yet all-knowing. When I look into those eyes, I see the soul of a child who is greatly disturbed because of sights that are not meant for a ten year old. No actor can portray that. We can only achieve that aura from a child who actually has seen some of the horrors that were depicted in the movie.

We follow the life of Pixote as he is first moved into a reformatory school for boys, and we follow his life as the core group of friends he becomes involved with start getting killed one-by-one as the adults who run the facilities try to save some face. Thinking he is going to be next on the list of hits, and seeing the corruption invovled in running the facility first hand, he does what he has to do in order to survive. So is the life of a child who has grown up all to fast. Then, just as we are coming to accept the fact that the ten year old Pixote has developed the personality and coping mechanisms of an adult, the movie reminds us in a heavy and startling way that young Pixote is still just a child.

This is definitely not a movie for a child to be watching. Such a statement really makes one think about the fact that we don't want our kids watching a movie about the kind of life that young Pixote was forced to live.