Boca do Lixo

This film tells the story of the rise and fall of Hiroito de Morales Joanides as, during the late fifties and early sixties, he gets involved in Sao Paulo's criminal underworld. His activities are centred on the once notorious Boca do Lixo area where he is involved in prostitution and drugs. He is quick to shoot those who cross him. Inevitably it is only a matter of time before the police, a rival criminal or his growing drug habit end his reign as the 'King of Boca'.

It is rare that I feel a film needs to be longer but in this case I think it could have done with more time. The story is interesting but often feels rushed; we move from one key incident to the next without learning enough about the general background... of course it is possible that many of things I would like to have been told would be known by the average Brazilian viewer who is presumably the main target audience. The film has a good look, the tint gives it a feel of the era and the cast does a fine job making it easy to believe in the characters; most notable of these is Daniel de Oliveira as Hiroito. As I had no idea how the story concluded the tension rose nicely towards the end. Overall I'd say this was a decent film that fans of the genre looking for a different setting might want to check out.