Directed by Héctor Babenco • 1981 • Brazil
Starring Fernando Ramos da Silva, Jorge Julião, Gilberto Moura
With its bracing blend of unflinching realism and aching humanity, Héctor Babenco's electrifying look at lost youth fighting to survive on the bottom rung of Brazilian society helped put the country's cinema on the international map. Shot with documentary-like immediacy on the streets of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, PIXOTE follows the eponymous preteen runaway (the heartbreaking Fernando Ramos da Silva, whose own too-short life tragically mirrored that of his character) as he escapes a nightmarish juvenile detention center only to descend into a life of increasingly violent crime alongside a makeshift family of fellow outcasts. Balancing its shocking brutality with moments of tenderness, this stunning journey through Brazil's underworld is an unforgettable cry from the lower depths that has influenced multiple generations of filmmakers, including Spike Lee, Harmony Korine, and the Safdie brothers.
Up Next in 30 Years of The Film Foundation
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Taipei Story
Directed by Edward Yang • 1985 • Taiwan
Starring Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai ChinEdward Yang’s second feature is a mournful anatomy of a city caught between the past and the present. Made in collaboration with Yang's fellow New Taiwan Cinema master Hou Hsiao-hsien, TAIPEI STORY chronicles the grow...
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Revenge
Directed by Ermek Shinarbaev • 1989 • Soviet Union
Starring Aleksandr Pan, Valentina Tyo, Kasym ZhakibayevA child is raised in Korea to avenge the death of his father’s first child in this decades-spanning tale of obsession and violence, the third collaboration between director Ermek Shinarbaev...
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The Housemaid
Directed by Kim Ki-young • 1960 • South Korea
Starring Kim Jin-kyu, Ju Jung-nyeo, Lee Eun-shimA torrent of sexual obsession, revenge, and betrayal is unleashed under one roof in this venomous melodrama from South Korean master Kim Ki-young. Immensely popular in its home country when it was rele...
