A man remembers forty-eight crucial hours in his life when, as a child, he visited his mother, the favorite woman of an important politician, in a bordello owned by him, right before some important political changes in 1937 Brazil. In those hours, he discovers his own sexuality.
10-year-old Pixote endures torture, degradation, and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of its members are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old trans hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape and they start to make their living by a life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death.
Solange is a recently married young woman whose wedding night did not end well. After constant fights with her husband, she decides to live through her sexual frustration by sleeping with strangers she picks up on crowded buses in Rio de Janeiro.
Otavio is an idealistic union leader trying to organize workers at a factory to resist the company's exploitative practices. His son, Tião, one of the employees, is more of a realist and doesn't want to risk losing his job by striking. This clash of perspectives puts the father and son at odds. Fortunately, Tião's mother, Romana, is on hand to act as a moderator between the two opinionated men.
Romantic adventures of a group of Rio de Janeiro teenagers and surfers.
Noronha is a low middle-class civil servant who lives with his frustrated wife Gorda and their three elder daughters. The youngest one, virginal Silene, is unexpectedly sent back home. Noronha discovers she has been expelled from boarding school for having killed a female cat and her seven newborns in a hysterical fit. Many dark family secrets will emerge from that episode leading to tragic events.
Quilombo dos Palmares was a real-life democratic society, created in Brazil in the 17th century. This incredibly elaborate (and surprisingly little-known) film traces the origins of Quilombo, which began as a community of freed slaves. The colony becomes a safe harbor for other outcasts of the world, including Indians and Jews. Ganga Zumba (Toni Tornado) becomes president of Quilombo, the first freely elected leader in the Western Hemisphere. Naturally, the ruling Portuguese want to subjugate Zumba and his followers, but the Quilombians are ready for their would-be oppressors. The end of this Brave New World is not pleasant, but the followers of Zumba and his ideals take to the hills, where they honor his memory to this day. Writer/director Carlos Diegues takes every available opportunity to compare the rise and fall of Quilombo with the state of affairs in modern-day Brazil.
An unhappily married cleaning woman in the slums of Rio entices all the money and gifts she can out of an elderly widower.
A clumsy detective and his secretary are hired to solve the mysterious, vampiresque deaths happening at a nightclub show.
When a pedestrian is hit by a bus, the simple clerk Arandir runs and kisses the moribund in a gesture of sympathy and unconditional pure love. Opportunist photographer Amado Pinheiro witnesses the scene and sees the opportunity to sell newspaper and, together with the despicable and abusive chief of police Cunha, accuses Arandir of homosexuality.
A group of eccentric people gather at a popular bar in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro.
A mad scientist attempts to bring an ancient Egyptian mummy back to life.
Middle-aged married journalist goes to the beach resort of Búzios, in Brazil, to write a book. Gradually, he falls in love with his neighbor's daughter, a beautiful teenager much younger than he, ignoring the social implications.
The romanced story of Xica da Silva, a slave that used her "feminine atributes" in order to get power.
Somwhere in the city of Porto Alegre, a man who has lost his memory is questioned by a group of police officers about the barbaric murder of a socialite. Without recognizing himself in the documents he carries in his pocket, he wanders through the underworlds of the city in search of an answer.
Toquinho is a young man living in Marechal Hermes, a poor neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, together with his widow mother and a younger sister. Although he is poor, he is also ambitious, and wants to change his life. He spends all his time on the beach, at Arpoador, Ipanema, where he dreams to become a famous surfer. Besides, he usually finds Patricia there, a rich and liberated young woman, whom he likes a lot. To impress Patricia and satisfy some of her wishes, he lets himself be seduced by André, a gay guy who, in return for his sexual favors, promises him a trip to Hawaii for a surf championship.
Two contrasting social groups get in touch: three architects and three street urchins, all struggling for survival.
Young and recently separated couple meet in a modern house and start discussing their past relationship.
Worker Norival's life turns upside down when he is caught kissing his co-worker Catarina during work hours. He is fired for just cause and faces the hardships of the labor lawsuit he filed against the company.
