giapvu Amazing, controversial, and painful are some essential adjectives to allocate this important piece of art, that depicts the searing and factual adolescence of the marginalized children; i.e. victims of our global village.Pixote prepubescent, with the unflinching stare of the innocent-all-knowing, left an impression of raw truth in finding credence to the old African saying, "It takes a village to raise a child". The awful reality, though, that director Hector Babenco visualized is that Brazil, with it's confusing, twisted, and socio-economic disparity, is the cause of this robbed innocence. In desperation, we see these children in search of nurturing and love, but only permitted leftovers of what society has tossed aside. Institutionalized rape, prostitution, drug dealing, and murder are the only voice they have in order to be nurtured, be loved, and have power. The only thing that Brazil has to offer these lost children are predators; repeating the cycle of hopelessness. Brazil, as a nation is an unworthy parent.In retrospect, I believe the film "Pixote" is a parable on the world governments turning a blind eye to the hunger pains of the destitute and impoverished victims of an ever-expanding economy; and the force of irresponsible globalization is leaving blood soaked tear trails of destruction through the interconnected avenues of the world. We see through the symbolism of a child that the inequality or disparity in society has a snowball effect causing cannibalism within ourselves.

wdtchc Trust the excellent and accurate Junagadh75 review! This film is compelling and moving in that roughest, most brutally beautiful film-masterpiece "way". File under UNFORGETTABLE STRONG MEAT. Or FILMS THAT HOWL AT THE MOON. Pixote gets into your nervous system and elevates you despite the pain on the screen. Here's an unrelated list of films that did the same thing for me, i.e. "engaged, destroyed, transformed,inspired, resonated... this category transcends nerdy film top ten lists that seek film perfection. "A Woman Under the Influence" , "Wiseblood", "Wages of Fear" "Saint Jack" "Funny Bones" "Out of the Blue".

preppy-3 The film opens with the director talking to the camera and saying he is going to show a story about Brazilain street kids whose families live in poverty and must steal and kill to survive. In fact the main character (Pixote) was played by an actual street kid only 11 years old. What follows was one of the most brutal, depressing and horrifying film I've even seen. I saw it about 17 years ago (on a double bill with "Black Orpheus") and have never forgotten it. I don't think I ever want to see it again--it was just too much. SPOILER AHEAD!!!! The scene which will not leave me is when Pixote meets a prostitute who has to abort her own fetus. You don't see her do it...but you get a quick glance at what she got out. It's almost 20 years later and just recalling that scene upsets me. SPOILER END!!!!!The movie gets more brutal as it goes along and ends the only way it can. What's all the more harrowing is stories like this really did happen in Brazil in 1981...and are STILL happening today.A harrowing brutal film...but it should be seen if you can handle it. I'm surprised this got an R rating--I've seen X rated film that are less graphic. A 10.

ninoguapo I liked the movie. At the beginning it started as documentary as some guy was talking about the tough conditions in Brazil. What actually impressed me was that as the guy mentioned all the kid actors including the main character Pixote played by Fernando Ramos Da Silva were coming from the real world – from the poorest neighborhoods, with one mission in life – to survive.Drugs, rape, prostitution, murder – Pixote has seen them all, and after reading the biography of the actor I am inclined to think that he has seen this things much before the idea of crating of that movie came up. You could actually sense that in his acting.Not only the horrors of the street life are shown, the cruelty of the police and people who are in theory responsible for people for problems which have found themselves arrested for some stupid crime – do they deserve to die for it ?!? Any why does no one cares – but instead the police and the director of the brostel in which Pixote is taken are trying to cover everything up – to avoid any responsibility, blaming everything upon the people they are supposed to help. In the movie when a boy asked his mother to take him out of the place where he was locked up – she said " what could happen to you here " – only she didn't know and he did not want to tell her – to describe the dimensions of the hell surrounding him – invisible to the outside world but existing. And I have to tell you that this is just as things are in the real life – but no one cares...