This award-winning 1981 film is as realistic a portrait as exists about the struggles of working-class families in industrializing Brazilian cities. The two families whose stories are told, live out the contradictions, violence, and almost overwhelming difficulties that are part of living in Sao Paulo, Latin America's most industrialized metropolis. The film won Fernanda Montenegro (CENTRAL STATION) one of her first international best actress awards, and the film itself was awarded the Special Jury Prize in 1981 at the Cannes Film Festival. It's definitely one of the best films to have come out of Brazil in the 80's.