The story of Paulo Honório, a poor ploughman who becomes a rich farmer. Obsessed by his desire to get even richer, he doesn't pay much attention to his wife, Madalena, a teacher who reacts against his tyrannical ways.
Inspired by the life of one of the most famous policemen in the history of Brazil: detective Perpétuo de Freitas, immortalized in the annals of Brazilian criminal history for relentlessly pursuing and without the slightest assistance of the Rio police force one of the most wanted criminals in the country.
Homeless children in the slums of Rio are driven out of their temporary shelters by ruthless gangsters in this somber drama. The kids survive by shining shoes, stealing, and cutting the strings of the kites to sell them later to others. Tired of life on the streets, one boy turns himself over to the police in hopes he will be sent to reform school in a last desperate attempt to survive. This feature from acclaimed Swedish director Arne Sucksdorff appeared at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.
Men work in a quarry on the edge of a hill where a slum is located, of which they are residents. The slope is blown up, advancing to the land near the shacks. Slum dwellers are warned that new explosions can cause damage. The community decides to place itself on the slope, preventing another explosion; without attitude, the foreman gives up on blowing up the hill.
(segment "Pedreira de São Diogo")
Five segments about the hardships faced by people living in slums on hills in Rio de Janeiro.
