Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco (1981)

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:

Runaway | Detention Center | 10 Year Old | Police | Escape

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)
Asphalt-Haie (West Germany) [de]
Pixote - den svagares lag (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Pixote - heikomman laki (Finland) [fi]
Pixote, la legge del più debole (Italy) [it]
Pixote, la ley del más débil (Spain) [es]
Pixote, la loi du plus faible (France) [fr]
Pixote, ta hamini tou Sao Paolo (Greece) [el]

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:

Referenced in Pixote, in memorian (2007)

Horror

"Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco" deals with what is perhaps the greatest of all Brazilian themes: poverty. And along with poverty the other unnatural feelings and actions it brings; prostitution, violence, crime, rape and murder.

Brazil is the country of paradoxes, and its social problems are present everywhere. The difference between the rich and the poor; the beautiful and the ugly; happiness and the most profound human decay.

"Pixote" is one of the films that dare to touch and open these so painful wounds, and does it without the slightest glimmer of hope, in an honest portrayal of a country that, like Pixote himself, is already lost.