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''Elite Squad'' (, ) is a 2007 Brazilian
crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
based on the novel '' Elite da Tropa'' by Luiz Eduardo Soares, André Batista, and Rodrigo Pimentel. Directed by José Padilha (from a screenplay by Padilha, Bráulio Mantovani, and Pimentel), the film stars Wagner Moura, Caio Junqueira, and André Ramiro, and tells the story of Roberto Nascimento (Moura), a captain with the Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais, or BOPE ("special police operations battalion"), who leads a police crackdown on a series of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
favelas in-preparation for the Brazilian
state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...
of
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
. Inspired by the Military Police of Rio, and their related arms, ''Elite Squad'' is the second feature and first film by Padilha, after the documentary '' Bus 174'' (2002). ''Elite Squad'' was a
box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...
hit in Brazil and became a cultural phenomenon there. The film won the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...
at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival, but received mixed reviews. Its
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
, '' Elite Squad: The Enemy Within'', was released in Brazil on October 8, 2010, and holds industry records in the country for high ticket sales and gross revenue. In 2015, the Brazilian Film Critics Association aka Abraccine voted ''Elite Squad'' the 30th greatest Brazilian film of all time, in its list of the 100 best Brazilian films.


Plot

In 1997, BOPE Captain Roberto Nascimento leads an operation to secure the Turano neighbourhood before
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
's overnight visit at the
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
's home near the favela. He searches for a successor at the unit in order to switch to a desk job before his pregnant wife Rosane gives birth to his son. Rookie PMERJ officers and best friends André Matias and Neto Gouveia handle menial work as instructed to them by their corrupt seniors: Neto supervises the police
auto mechanic An auto mechanic is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more List of car brands, automobile brands or sometimes working with any brand. In fixing cars, their main role is to Diagnosis, diagnose and ...
shop, whilst Matias is responsible for registering and filing police complaints in a small archive office. André also attends
law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...
, where he begins a relationship with Maria, and meets her friends Roberta and Edu; all three are members of a NGO that operates in an area ruled by drug lord Baiano. Baiano provides marijuana to Matias' friends, who sell it on campus. André also befriends Romerito, a boy who, like himself, suffers from myopia. Neto applies to another department, but his transfer is denied. Disgusted by corruption and led by fellow officer Fábio, Neto and André steal the police's
bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...
money to fix as many police cars as possible. Their superior, Captain Oliveira, finds out and demotes them to kitchen work as punishment and orders Fábio—who he believes stole from him—to meet drug traffickers at a community
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
party in Morro da Babilônia to enquire about payment. Fábio believes this is a set-up to kill him and discreetly warns Neto and André, who rush to a vantage point and, presuming Fabio will be shot by another officer, accidentally fire a
sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...
, causing a deadly gunfight between the officers and traffickers; as André and Neto attempt to flee the scene, Nascimento and his men arrive and rescue all the officers. After the shootout, André is photographed by the press. André and Neto apply for BOPE, motivated by their honesty and devotion, and eagerness for action. At the NGO office, Baiano confronts Maria and her friends with a newspaper featuring André's picture and threatens to kill them if they bring policemen inside his territory. The BOPE training proves to be gruesome, both as a way to weed out weak candidates, and also to terrorize and force out known corrupt police officers. Many candidates quit — including Fábio (who applied as a way to avoid Oliveira) — but both Neto and André successfully pass; Neto celebrates by getting a BOPE tattoo on his arm. André's relationship with Maria ends and he confronts Edu, ordering him to arrange a meet with Romerito the next day to give him a pair of glasses. Edu reveals André's plan to Baiano, who sets an ambush to kill him. Neto informs André of a job interview at a law firm that will conflict with meeting Romerito, and volunteers to deliver the glasses in his place: this results in Neto being mortally wounded. When Baiano prepares to execute him, he notices his BOPE tattoo and goes into hiding for fear of retaliation, but not before abducting and executing Roberta and Rodriguez as his payback for allowing a BOPE officer into the slum. After Neto's funeral, André, Nascimento and other BOPE officers make daily incursions into Baiano's slum, torturing several dealers into revealing his whereabouts; when one of them reveals Edu tipped Baiano, an enraged Matias storms into a peace walk, beats Edu, and insults Maria and the others. BOPE interrogates several of the locals before finally locating and cornering Baiano; due to Baiano's pleas to not hurt his face for the wake, Nascimento orders André to shoot him in the face with a shotgun, both as revenge for Neto's death and as a final
rite of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisa ...
for BOPE. André cocks the gun and the screen fades to white as a shot is heard.


Cast

* Wagner Moura as Roberto Nascimento – A captain in the BOPE squad, who is awaiting a promotion that will make his job safer and enable him to spend time with his wife and newborn son. In order to move into his new position he needs to find a worthy successor. * Caio Junqueira as Aspirant Neto Gouveia – He is a rookie police officer and Matias' best friend. Nascimento describes Neto as being similar to himself when he was younger. He is a tough man, but has a fierce temper as well, and never gives up on his mission. He later joined BOPE to seek out justice and was groomed for Nascimento's spot. * André Ramiro as Aspirant André Matias – Another rookie police officer, he is also a law student, who wants to specialize in criminal law. He is a resourceful and calculating tactician. He joins BOPE along with Neto Gouveia. * Maria Ribeiro as Rosane Nascimento – Nascimento's wife. They are expecting their first child. She dislikes Nascimento's frequent absence from home and the dangers associated with his job. * Milhem Cortaz as Capitão Fábio Barbosa – One of the captains where Matias and Neto work he develops a sort-of friendship with the two. A former pimp in Copacabana he also runs a protection racket scheme. After Matias and Neto stole the drug payoff he feared that Oliveira would blame him and have him killed. * Fernanda Machado as Maria – A law student and founding member of the NGO, she is also a marijuana user. She befriends Matias and falls in love with him, but when Baiano finds out that he is a cop, she abandons him for lying to her and because she fears Baiano's retribution. She later helps Matias by giving him the name of Baiano's girlfriend. In the end, Matias insults her and her friends and walks away, ending their relationship. * André Di Mauro as Pedro Rodrigues – A student who works in the favela's NGO and dates Roberta. As a punishment for bringing a cop into the drug dealer's circle of friends, Rodrigues is necklaced. * Paulo Vilela as Edu – Nicknamed "Playboy", he is the main university drug dealer and is close to Baiano, although he is afraid of him. He despises Matias for his defense of police officers. * Fábio Lago as Baiano – He is a ruthless drug lord who sells marijuana and heroin throughout the university using several students. Unlike many other drug lords, he hates all cops, even the corrupt ones, and avoids having business with them. Edu is his main seller on the university. He has a small auxiliary that protects the NGO. * Marcelo Valle as Capitão Oliveira – He is Fabio's rival and superior in the police force, taking over his territory for protection rackets and later allegedly setting him up to be killed. * Fernanda de Freitas as Roberta Alunde * Alex Avellar, as 02 * Ricardo Pagotto Piai, as 08 * Guilherme Aguilar, as 07 * Pedro Bonfim, as PM Robson


Inspiration

The movie is based on '' Elite da Tropa'', a book by two BOPE policemen (''Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais'' - Rio de Janeiro military police squads for special actions), André Batista and Rodrigo Pimentel, together with sociologist & anthropologist Luiz Eduardo Soares, which provided a semi-fictional account of the daily routine of the BOPE as well as some historical events, based on the experiences of the two BOPE policemen. The book was controversial at the time of release, in its description of the BOPE as a "killing machine", as well as the detailed allegation of an aborted assassination attempt on then left-wing governor of Rio de Janeiro, Leonel Brizola, and reportedly resulted in Batista being reprimanded and censured by the Military Police. The writing contained some discrepancies, however Soares did not retract his novel. The novel had a unique reception when it was translated in 2010. There were many fans of the original novel and film who felt that the Portuguese-English translation was poor and did not follow the film and vice versa. Ultimately the novel (before translation) was more like the film than the novel in English.


Production leak

In August 2007, prior to the movie's release to theaters, a preliminary cut of the film was leaked and made available for download on the Internet. The cut, which included English title cards but no subtitles, was leaked from the company responsible for subtitling the film, resulting in one person being fired and a criminal investigation. It was estimated that about 11.5 million people had seen the leaked version of the movie in 2007.


Reception


Popularity and box office

''Tropa de Elite'' became one of the most popular Brazilian movies in history. According to Datafolha, 77% of
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residents knew about the movie. The word of mouth was also important for the disclosure of the film, with 80% of the people rating the movie as "excellent" or "good", according to the same poll. The movie was released in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo on October 5, 2007 (with the intention of being considered by the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...
to compete as the Brazilian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
). It was released nationwide on October 12, 2007. By January 2008, 2.5 million people had seen it in theaters. In Rio and São Paulo, with no promotion other than billboards, 180,000 people saw the movie during its opening weekend. The movie was also the cover issue for the two Brazil's most important weekly magazines, '' Veja'' and '' Época''. In the beginning of 2008 it was confirmed that
Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...
would produce a TV series based on the movie. In 2011 Rockstar Games recommended ''Elite Squad'' to fans of its video game '' Max Payne 3'', which is set in Brazil and depicts battles between special police units and favela gangs.


Critical response

Outside Brazil reviews of the film were initially mixed, but after time the film was received more positively. ''Elite Squad'' has an approval rating of 51% on
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website
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, based on 35 reviews, and an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Brutal, action-heavy Brazilian cop film with a pointless voiceover. Lacks flair, overdoes the violence and is never quite sure where its morals lie".
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assigned the film a weighted average score of 33 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". The film won the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...
at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival.


Criticism

When the first version of the film leaked, it caused a major controversy for its portrayal of Captain Nascimento's unpunished
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
in
slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...
s (favelas); some saw it as glamourizing police violence. After its exhibition in Berlin Film Festival, critic Jay Weissberg, in a '' Variety'' article, called the movie "a one-note celebration of violence-for-good that plays like a recruitment film for
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
thugs". Michel Misse, a researcher of urban violence in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in an article by '' Carta Capital'', tried to explain why some people cheered at Captain Nascimento's actions: "as the judiciary system cannot keep up with the demand for punishment, some may think
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
leads to unpunishment. And then, they want illegal solutions. That's why Captain Nascimento is called".


Awards

On February 16, 2008, ''Elite Squad'' won the Best Movie award at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival, the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...
.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was a collection of popular hits, but even the soundtrack would not escape controversy as the Brazilian authorities demanded the removal of MC Leonardo's " Rap das Armas" from the film, because of alleged promotion of violence like use of illegal arms and drugs. The filmmakers complied two weeks after the official release. #" Rap das Armas" - Bateria da Rocinha, MC Junior & MC Leonardo #"Tropa de Elite" - Tihuana #"Rap da Felicidade" - MC Cidinho, MC Doca #"Passa Que é Teu" - Pedro Bromfman #"Brilhar a Minha Estrela" - Sangue da Cidade #" Kátia Flávia, a Godiva do Irajá" - Fausto Fawcett #"Teatro de Bonecos" - Guilherme Flarys, Pedro Guedes #" Polícia" -
Titãs Titãs (, Portuguese for Titans) are a Brazilian Rock music, rock band from São Paulo. Though they primarily are classified as a rock band, the band have also experimented with genres such as New wave music, new wave, punk rock, ska, grunge, M ...
#"Invasão do BOPE" - Pedro Bromfman #" Lado B Lado A" - O Rappa #"Andando Pela África" - Barbatuques #"Nossa Bandeira" - Bateria da Rocinha, MC Leonardo #"Rap das Armas (Samba School)" - MC Leonardo, MC Junior, Bateria da Rocinha


Sequel

A sequel, named '' Tropa de Elite 2: O Inimigo Agora É Outro'', was released in Brazil on October 8, 2010, and in the U.S. on November 11, 2011.


See also

* Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais * '' Bus 174'' * '' City of God'' * Rota 66: A Polícia que Mata


References


External links

* *
Official trailer with English subtitles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elite Squad 2007 crime drama films 2007 films Brazilian crime drama films Films about the illegal drug trade Films directed by José Padilha Films set in 1997 2000s hood films Films set in Rio de Janeiro (city) Films shot in Rio de Janeiro (city) Golden Bear winners 2000s Portuguese-language films Films about squatting Works about organized crime in Brazil 2000s Brazilian films Films set in slums Portuguese-language crime drama films