Vidas Secas (1963)★ 8.1/10

Inferno. Palavra esquisita. O que é o inferno?

A cornerstone of Brazil’s first phase of Cinema Novo and one of Nelson Pereira dos Santos’ most significant works, it follows a family seeking survival only to face exploitation, oppression, and deceit. It vividly captures the struggles of the rural poor and the complexity of human nature.

Like Italian neorealist classics such as "The Bicycle Thieves," this film focuses on the marginalized, exposing social injustice while celebrating the resilience and dignity of laborers, accentuated by its opening and closing horn blasts.