Tropa de Elite

After watching the amazing movie, City of God, a few years ago I just wanted to see more. Although Tropa de Elite has the same raw look of City of God, is different in content.

Tropa de Elite is about a group of Rio de Janeiro cops that grow tired of the system and declare war against crime and corruption and literally aren't taking any prisoners to the point that you just can't help but cheer for BOPE no matter their brutal methods of interrogation.

The photography is stunning and the action is extreme and realistic. You have to see this movie more than once because there is so much going in terms of plot and action that you might miss it. The story is well put together and the acting is as good as any, but what I liked the most was the sense of dread BOPE was able to inflict on the minds of criminals and corrupt cops. If you like City of God and City of Men, you will absolutely love Tropa de Elite. Highly recommended!

When the "favela reality" movies seem to be running out of 'ideas' - trying to profit by copying the acclaimed "City of God" over and over -, director José Padilha (of the equally engrossing documentary "Bus 174") brings us "Tropa de Elite" ("Elite Squad"), the most controversial Brazilian film in a long time, having sold millions of pirated DVD copies even before its theatrical release (and still managed to become the biggest Brazilian movie event of 2007).

"Elite Squad" shows the routine of a group of cops in Rio de Janeiro, and the inhumane training they have to go through in order to become a BOPE (Special Police Operation Battalion) captain, the policemen who are supposed to fight drug trafficking, in the rawest possible way. Wagner Moura ("God Is Brazilian"), one of the most versatile Brazilian actors of his generation, delivers a bravura performance as Captain Nascimento, who wants to quit his job in order to dedicate himself to his newly-born son, but has an important mission before that: finding the right replacement.

"Elite Squad" is not as stylized or visually compelling as Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund's "City of God" (the comparison is inevitable), but that's not a flaw. The movie is violent but realistic, far from sheer Hollywood gore-fest (i.e. Scorsese's over-hyped "The Departed"), and offers some extremely provocative discussions about Brazil's social chaos - and also a disarmingly blunt, love it or hate it narration. Surprise winner of the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival (competing with other strong titles, including Paul Thomas Anderson's brilliant "There Will Be Blood"), "Elite Squad" is a must-see. 10/10.

Elite Squad is an impressive and enjoyable film. It is well directed, well acted, and well worth watching.

There has been a lot of criticism of Elite Squad for being fascist. Such a perspective is disappointingly superficial. Too many critics have failed to distinguish the narrative perspective from the ideological perspective of the film. Although an admittedly reactionary and authoritarian BOPE member, Captain Nascimento, narrates it, the film's primary criticisms are regarding low pay for police, systemic corruption, and, the middle class's irresponsible consumption of drugs. As for any feeling that the brutal violence is justified that a viewer may be left with, this has more to do with the fact that in certain extreme circumstances desperate times call for desperate measures.

Having seen "Cidade de Deus" and thoroughly enjoyed it (though it is a grim tale), I was at first having high hopes for "Tropa de Elite". Then I thought that it could never reach the same high standards, and my hopes were lowered a great deal.

About 3 months ago I happened to see about 15 minutes of the movie, and that lowered my hopes even more. How wrong I was to judge such a great movie on what must have been an unfortunate 15 minutes.

I won't go into detail about the story, but it is both believable and compelling. Like "Cidade..." this is no fairy tale. It's the world as it is. No more, no less. Of course, there might not be that many guns blazing in reality, but I'd reckon this isn't very far off.

We feel the pain, the lack of morale and the despair and hopelessness. Photography is spot on, the acting is both fantastic and realistic. "Tropa de Elite" never went into the big theaters here in Denmark which is rather unfortunate, since it's a true gem. Instead we get loads of mainstream crap. Not to sound arrogant, I watch loads of mainstream movies too (voluntarily, even), but it's movies like this that made me love movies as fondly as I do.

Do yourself a favour. Get this on DVD. See it. Feel the pain. Immerge yourself in the desperate world. Then, after it's all over, enjoy your life, a life that will seem much, much brighter after this.

ELITE SQUAD is another top-notch Brazilian thriller following in the footsteps of CITY OF GOD (the two films share a writer, I believe). Although the storyline is completely different, the two films share plenty of stylistic similarities: the gritty, on-the-streets style filming, the realism, the multi-layered storytelling, the realistic and sympathetic characters, the hectic pace.

Needless to say that this is an excellent film that offers a thorough exploration of policing in Brazil and all of the violence and corruption that comes with it. ELITE SQUAD does tackle the menace of drug gangs and the like but that's not the sole focus here; instead we learn of the everyday corruption present in all aspects of the police force. The dialogue crackles with electricity and the performances are exemplary, particularly from Andre Ramiro, who plays my favourite character, a naive law student drawn into a dark and murky world.

Fizzing with energy and loaded with brutal violence, ELITE SQUAD is as good as it gets for a contemporary thriller and it's also one of those films that educates as well as entertains. Be warned, it pulls no punches. A sequel, ELITE SQUAD: THE ENEMY WITHIN follows, and inevitably I have to track it down.