Tropa de Elite
| The Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite) |
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 Tropa de Elite theatrical poster. |
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| 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 |
| Editing by | Daniel Rezende |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | Brazil: October 5, 2007 (Rio de Janeiro & São Paulo) October 12, 2007 (nationwide) |
| Running time | 118 min. |
| Country | Brazil |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Budget | R$10,500,000 |
| Gross revenue | $13,858,203 |
Tropa de Elite (IPA: ['trɔ.pɐ ʤi̯e.'li.tʃI], English title: The Elite Squad. Literally: Elite Troop) is a Brazilian film released on October 5, 2007. The movie 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 director José Padilha, who had previously directed the acclaimed documentary Bus 174. The script was written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter 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 film won the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival.
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Plot summary
Set in 1997, Elite Squad follows the lives of a BOPE captain, Nascimento, and two potential BOPE officers and childhood friends, Neto Gouveia and André Matias, and their experiences revolving around everyday life Rio de Janeiro's favelas. Due to high levels of corruption, drug trafficking militias have virtual control within the favelas while the police run their criminal enterprises outside. At the same time, Captain Nascimento must balance his attempts to find a replacement and the fact that his wife is about to give birth. And while Gouveia is quick on the trigger to maintain order, Matias refuses to compromise his ideals, leading him to make some tough choices.
Cast
- Wagner Moura as Capitão 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
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 censored 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-governor Leonel Brizola.[1]
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.[2]
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 extremely good with 80% of the people rating the movie as excellent or good according to the same company.[3]. The movie was released in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo on October 5, 2007, with a nationwide release on October 12, 2007. Up to now 2.5 million people have seen it at the theaters.[4]. In Rio and São Paulo, with no promotion other than billboards, 180,000 people saw the movie during its opening weekend.[3] [5]
The movie was also the cover 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.[6]
It also was a big social phenomenon. Slangs from the movie were incorporated in daily conversations and songs from the soundtrack, such as Tropa de Elite by Tihuana and Rap das Armas, became big radio hits, topping the Top 10 from popular Top 40 radios such as Jovem Pan and Mix FM.
Awards
On 16 February 2008 the movie was awarded with the best movie award of the Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden Bear.[7]
Controversy
When the film was first leaked, it caused a major controversy for its portrayal of Capitão Nascimento's unpunished police brutality in favelas. After the exhibition in Berlin 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".[8] Michel Misse, a researcher for Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, in an interview to Carta Capital, tried to explain why Capitão Nascimento is cheered: "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 Capitão Nascimento is called".[9]
References
- ^ Monken, Mario Hugo. Livro sobre elite da PM do Rio causou punição, diz autor. Folha de S. Paulo. April 29, 2006. Retrieved on September 5, 2007.
- ^ 'Elite' stirs controversy, box office
- ^ a b Datafolha (October 6, 2007). ""Tropa de Elite" já foi visto por 19% dos paulistanos". Folha de S. Paulo.
- ^ Ag. Estado (January 11, 2008). "'Tropa de Elite' pode render doações". Agência Estado.
- ^ [1].
- ^ Folha Online - Ilustrada - Globo vence Record e leva "Tropa de Elite", informa Daniel Castro - 18/02/2008
- ^ The Elite Squad in Berlin
- ^ Variety - The Elite Squad Review
- ^ Herói torturador — CartaCapital
See also
External links
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Tuya's Marriage |
Golden Bear winner 2008 |
Succeeded by TBD |
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