O bandido da luz vermelha

‘Third world is going to explode! Those who wear shoes won’t survive!’ Cinema and life on the fringes, Brazil, poverty, and the Boca do Lixo writ large in 21-year-old Sganzerla’s feature debut, widely considered one of the great Brazilian films.
Jorge, a suave bandit/rapist (sketched from the exploits of real-life crook João Acácio Pereira da Costa), rapidly rises to the ranks of crime superstardom. Feared by police, desired by housemaids, mythologised by journalists, he hardly exists in a vacuum of sleaze: dubious cops, politicians, and businessmen encircle Jorge at every corner of the bustling metropolis.
Enjoyably crude, Sganzerla’s bandit creation is equal parts Mickey Spillane and Mario Andrade (Macunaíma), a hero barely contained by the slum universe that created him. Complemented by paramour Janete Jane (played with uncommon verve by Helena Ignez), Jorge briefly finds an escape before resuming the path of obliteration.

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