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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2023
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.
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