Paulo Halm Movies

An retired police precinct chief from Copacabana finds his fate taking an unsettling turn after becoming the main suspect in the death of his lover - a prominent Rio de Janeiro streetwalker - in director Jose Joffily's tense underworld thriller. Vieira used be a high profile law enforcer, but these days he spends most of his time in the company of lusty prostitute Magali. When Magali is murdered, the authorities quickly shift their suspicions to Vieira and crooked cop Montiero begins blackmailing the former precinct chief. Now, as Vieira faces crooked cops on one side and murderous thugs on the other, he finds a last chance at happiness in the form of the beautiful Flor. But on the streets of Rio love and death can go hand in hand, and the man who used to enforce the law will now find himself forced to take a violent stance against it. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A man in his early twenties starts thinking about his future and where the woman he loves will figure into it in this romantic comedy-drama from Brazil. It's a cool and rainy night, and Carlos (Murilo Benicio) is waiting outside a movie theater for his girlfriend Julia (Carolina Ferraz) to show up for their date. As Carlos starts to think he's been stood up, his mind wanders, and he finds himself imagining three different scenarios of how Julia might fit into his future. In one, Carlos is a businessman who is married, though not very happily, to a woman named Maria (Beth Goulart). One day, Carlos happens to run into his former girlfriend Julia, and he's soon tempted into infidelity. But does Carlos have the courage to leave Maria and start his life over with Julia? In another daydream, Carlos and Julia were married, but he divorced her when he came out of the closet after falling in love with Pedro (Emilio de Mello). Pedro and Carlos are very happy together, much to the annoyance of Julia, who goes out of her way to make things difficult for her former husband and his new lover. And finally, Carlos imagines himself an overgrown adolescent layabout who still lives with his mom (Irene Ravache) and seems incapable of handling a long-term relationship, though that doesn't stop him from seducing as many women as his circumstances allow. Carlos is urged to consult a computer dating service in hopes of finding a woman he can settle down with; Carlos gives it a try, and discovers his first match is none other that his significant other from college, Julia. Possible Loves was awarded the Latin American Cinema Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In 1980, impoverished working-class child actor Fernando Ramos da Silva became the darling of Brazilian cinema after starring in the internationally acclaimed Pixote, a wrenching look at the plight of Rio de Janeiro street urchins forced into criminal lives. With such an auspicious debut, a great career for Ramos da Silva seemed inevitable. Unfortunately, fate and the rigidity of Brazil's social stratus had other, more tragic plans. This biopic tells his sorrowful tale and follows the grim sequence of events that led to his brutal, controversial murder by the police.

Ramos da Silva was the seventh in a family of ten. His father died when he was still a child. He got his start acting in a play and was later selected from 1300 other boys to play the role of Pixote. For the role, he received world-wide attention and a small fortune. It was too much for Ramos de Silva and he began to identify too closely with Pixote, it created a schism within the confused boy that he never resolved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide