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Pixote (1981) N
Pixote is a young boy living on the streets of São Paulo committing crimes with his friends. He ends up in juvenile reformatory where threat of abuse comes from both the other kids and the people running the place. After one boy dies due to abuse by guards and another is framed for his death Pixote and few others run away. But is the life on the streets any better?
Pixote is very gritty and hopeless movie. It doesn't fall for the usual trope of painting the boys as mere victims but shows them as despicable as the corrupt adults around them. Maybe the boys never had a chance but the film doesn't really show us that they'd deserve one either. It's very nihilistic film and I like that.
My main issue with Pixote is the lack of proper characters. It just shows us few slices of Pixote's life and almost nothing in those glimpses defines any of the boys. Again, this is likely a conscious choice but it's generally something I don't like; in a character driven film I'd like to be able to relate to the characters somehow (not necessarily sympathize but understand what motivates them and pushes them towards the choices they make).
I also don't like the short intro; if you want to make a documentary then do one but Pixote is a film about fictional characters so I don't really want to be lectured like that. Otherwise the film does feel believable and documentary-like looks fit it perfectly. Largely(?) amateur cast does good job as well. The transition from reformatory to freedom was odd and for a while I thought it was a flashback from before reformatory.
With little more details on the characters this would have been good but as it is it falls slightly short. Definitely worth a watch though.
Pixote is a young boy living on the streets of São Paulo committing crimes with his friends. He ends up in juvenile reformatory where threat of abuse comes from both the other kids and the people running the place. After one boy dies due to abuse by guards and another is framed for his death Pixote and few others run away. But is the life on the streets any better?
Pixote is very gritty and hopeless movie. It doesn't fall for the usual trope of painting the boys as mere victims but shows them as despicable as the corrupt adults around them. Maybe the boys never had a chance but the film doesn't really show us that they'd deserve one either. It's very nihilistic film and I like that.
My main issue with Pixote is the lack of proper characters. It just shows us few slices of Pixote's life and almost nothing in those glimpses defines any of the boys. Again, this is likely a conscious choice but it's generally something I don't like; in a character driven film I'd like to be able to relate to the characters somehow (not necessarily sympathize but understand what motivates them and pushes them towards the choices they make).
I also don't like the short intro; if you want to make a documentary then do one but Pixote is a film about fictional characters so I don't really want to be lectured like that. Otherwise the film does feel believable and documentary-like looks fit it perfectly. Largely(?) amateur cast does good job as well. The transition from reformatory to freedom was odd and for a while I thought it was a flashback from before reformatory.
With little more details on the characters this would have been good but as it is it falls slightly short. Definitely worth a watch though.