Querô

Carlos Cortez's 2007 Brazilian film tells the story of an orphaned teenager living alone around the docks of Santos. His mother, a sex worker, died when he was a baby, and Querô grew up in the brothel where she worked. Believing he decides his own fate, he refuses to compromise with anyone, neither the corrupt police pursuing him nor the people who want to use him. The film does not present that refusal as heroism, it shows what it costs. Maxwell Nascimento's performance carries the hardness that comes from working with non-professional actors. Cortez works in the social realist vein of 2000s Brazilian cinema but keeps away from the kinetic cutting of City of God; the camera is calmer and more uncomfortable. The reformatory sections are effective at showing how ordinary institutional violence becomes. Who it's for: viewers interested in Brazilian social realism and stories of street children. Who it's not for: anyone avoiding content involving violence against children and sexual exploitation, or expecting a hopeful ending.