The Elite Squad

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The Elite Squad
Tropa de Elite theatrical poster.
Directed by	José Padilha
Produced by	José Padilha Marcos Prado
Written by	Bráulio Mantovani José Padilha Rodrigo Pimentel
Starring	Wagner Moura Caio Junqueira André Ramiro
Music by	Pedro Bromfman Hans Zimmer Theodore Shapiro
Cinematography	Lula Carvalho
Editing by	Daniel Rezende Chris Lebenzon
Studio	Zazen Produções
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (Brazil) The Weinstein Company (Non-USA) Touchstone Pictures through Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (North America)
Release date(s)	October 5, 2007 (2007-10-05)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	Brazil
Language	Portuguese
Budget	R$ 11 million US$ 6,537,890.04
Box office	R$ 24.666.621 US$14,660,695.99

The Elite Squad (Portuguese: Tropa de Elite, pronounced: [ˈtɾɔpɐ dʒi eˈlitʃi] lit. "Elite Troop") is a 2007 Brazilian film directed by José Padilha. The film is a semi-fictional account of the BOPE (Portuguese: Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais), the Special Police Operations Battalion of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police. It is the second feature film and first fiction film of Padilha, who had previously directed the documentary Bus 174. The script was written by Bráulio Mantovani, based on the book Elite da Tropa by sociologist Luiz Eduardo Soares and two former BOPE captains, André Batista and Rodrigo Pimentel.

The Elite Squad was an outstanding commercial success, and became a cultural phenomenon in Brazil. The film won the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival. Its sequel, The Elite Squad 2, released in Brazil on October 8, 2010, holds industry records in the country for ticket sales and grossed revenue.

Plot

Set in 1997, in Rio de Janeiro, The Elite Squad follows the lives and exploits of a BOPE captain named Nascimento and his two potential heirs-in-command, Neto Gouveia and André Matias, rising from the ranks of general PMERJ (the state military police) to BOPE (later it is revealed that Nascimento wants to leave the force because his wife is pregnant with his first child).

While Neto Gouveia is a quick-tempered, tougher man, André Matias refuses to compromise his ideals of peace and equality. The latter is also a student of Law at a university in Rio, where his upper class friends are unaware of his job as a policeman, and are clearly shown as "spoiled" kids that tend to see the police as a repressive unit.

Preceding the visit of Pope John Paul II to Rio, the plot unfolds and we are introduced to the day-to-day drug busting operations inside Rio's favelas, ruled by well-armed and powerful drug lords, led by the Brazilian elite unit, BOPE, and the corruption that affects part of the PMERJ.

Cast

• Wagner Moura as Captain Roberto Nascimento
• Caio Junqueira as Neto Gouveia
• André Ramiro as André Matias
• Maria Ribeiro as Rosane
• Fernanda Machado as Maria
• Fernanda de Freitas as Roberta Alunde
• Paulo Vilela as Edu
• Milhem Cortaz as Capitão Fábio
• Marcelo Valle as Capitão Oliveira
• Fábio Lago as Baiano
• Alex Avellar, as 02
• Ricardo Pagotto Piai, as 08
• Guilherme Aguilar, as 07
• Pedro Bonfim, as PM Robson
• Sandro Rocha as Sargent Rocha

Inspiration

The movie is based on Elite da Tropa, a book by sociologist Luiz Eduardo Soares and two BOPE policemen, André Batista and Rodrigo Pimentel, 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 latter two. The book was controversial at the time of release, and reportedly resulted in Batista being reprimanded and censured by the Military Police. The book was controversial in its description of the BOPE as a "killing machine", as well as detailing an alleged aborted assassination attempt on then left-wing governor Leonel Brizola.

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 São Paulo 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 to compete as the Brazilian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar). It was released nationwide on October 12, 2007. Up to now 2.5 million people have seen it at the theaters even though most people had already seen it via pirated DVDs. 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 three of Brazil's most important weekly magazines, Veja, Carta Capital and Época. On the beginning of 2008 it was confirmed that Rede Globo will produce a TV series based on the movie.

Outside Brazil, however, reviews of the film were more mixed. Based on 34 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, The Elite Squad received an average 53% overall approval rating. Critical consensus was that the film was a "brutal, action-heavy Brazilian cop film with a pointless voiceover. Lacks flair, overdoes the violence and is never quite sure where its morals lie".

Criticism

When the first version of the film leaked, it caused a major controversy for its portrayal of Captain Nascimento's unpunished police brutality in slums (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 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 leads to unpunishment. And then, they want illegal solutions. That's why Captain Nascimento is called".

Awards

On February 16, 2008, The Elite Squad won the Best Movie award of the Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden Bear.

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 after two weeks of the official release.

1. "Rap das Armas" - Bateria da Rocinha, MC Leonardo
2. "Tropa de Elite" - Tihuana
3. "Rap da Felicidade" - MC Cidinho, MC Doca
4. "Passa Que é Teu" - Pedro Bromfman
5. "Brilhar a Minha Estrela" - Sangue da Cidade
6. "Kátia Flávia, a Godiva do Irajá" - Fausto Fawcett
7. "Teatro de Bonecos" - Guilherme Flarys, Pedro Guedes
8. "Polícia" - Titãs
9. "Invasão do BOPE" - Pedro Bromfman
10. "Lado B Lado A" - O Rappa
11. "Andando Pela África" - Barbatuques
12. "Nossa Bandeira" - Bateria da Rocinha, MC Leonard
13. "Rap das Armas [Funk]" - MC Leonard

Sequel

Main article: The Elite Squad 2

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

See also

• BOPE
• Bus 174
• City of God

References

The Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (US)

External links

• Official website (Portuguese)
• Tropa de Elite at the Internet Movie Database
• Tropa de Elite at Rotten Tomatoes
• Official trailer with English subtitles

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (US) - Official Website