Documentary about the avenue (Avenida Brasil) that is the main access to Rio de Janeiro, crossing very poor and violent suburbs. Rio de Janeiro is perhaps the most famous Brazilian city, and its name evokes visions of glamor even today. This documentary pries into life along the 30 mile-long avenue which provides access to and from Rio, known as the Avenida Brasil, and investigates the dreary and hopeless slums which surround the city. Some of the violent situations featured in the film were staged for the documentary, others were filmed exactly as they happened.