11 - Pixote: A Lei Do Mais Fraco (Pixote: The Law of the Weakest, 1980), Directed by Héctor Babenco

Summary

Cast

Pixote, played by Fernando Ramos da Silva

Sapato, played by Jordel Filho

Dito, played by Gilberto Moura

Chico, played by Edilson Lino

Garatão, played by Claudio Bernardo

Lilica, played by Jorge Juliano

Fumaça, played by Zenildo Oliveira

Deborah, played by Elke Maravilha

Sueli, played by Marília Pêra

Almir (the Policeman), played by João José Pompeo

Judge, played by Rubens de Faldo

Psychologist, played by Isadora de Farias

Crew

Screenplay: Héctor Babenco and Jorge Durán, based on novel Infância dos mortos by José Louzeiro

Photography: Rodolfo Sancho

Producer: Luiz Elias

Music: John Neschling

Executive Producer: Silvia Naves

Associate Producers: Paolo Francini, José Pinto, Embrafilme

Director: Héctor Babenco

Awards

Winner, Best Foreign Film, New York Film Critics and Los Angeles Film Critics, 1981

Nominee, Golden Globe, Best Foreign Film, 1981

Winner, Silver Leopard, Locarno, 1981

Winner, Critics’ Prize, San Sebastian Film Festival, 1981

Winner, Best Film, Sydney Film Festival, 1982

Winner, Best Actress (Marília Pêra), National Society of Film Critics, USA, 1981

Plot

Film opens with a scene in which some young men are watching a violent scene from a film on TV, which they subsequently imitate. We are in a police station, where we see a woman report her son who has been missing for a month. A group of children are brought in by the police, their names checked, and then they are driven to the reformatory, which is called Pavilhão Euclides da Cunha. The Chief Superintendent, Sapato, explains the rules to them. That night we see a young boy being raped by some of the older boys; Pixote watches, but refuses to reveal the identity of the culprit (it was Garatão), when questioned by the Prison Warden. Pixote’s new friend, Fumaça (who loves marihuana, hence his name which literally means ‘smoke’) introduces Pixote to drugs. That night the two boys see a police officer attempting to find out from the prison inmates who killed the judge the previous week and robbed him of his wallet. They refuse to tell; the transvestite, Lilica, is picked on, but he also refuses to spill the beans. Lilica’s lover, Garatão, forces Pixote to eat the food he has spat on at breakfast.