The biggest film in South American cinema history, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within sees revered Lieutenant-Colonel Roberto Nascimento and his second in command Andre Matias facing battles both on the streets and within the corrupt political system of Rio.
Brazil, 1997: Life's no fiesta in Rio De Janeiro's poverty stricken favelas, and it's not exactly a barrel of laughs for city cops either, especially if you're part of the hardcore 'BOPE' ('Special Police Operation Battalion'). Veteran Capitão Nascimento (Wagner Moura) is about to become a father, hence decides to turn in his semi-automatic and military issue beret for a life of domestic bliss, but before he can hang up his gun-belt for good, Nascimento has to choose a successor and ensure all security checks are in place for an upcoming Papal visit. Clichéd trainee recruits Mathias (conscientious, idealistic) and Neto (edgy, instinctive) are natural heirs to the 'Elite Squad' throne, though both are quickly made to face facts with regards to the complexities of policing a sprawling, crime-ridden city where corruption is commonplace and violence a way of life. Director José Padilha, best known for his docudrama 'Bus 174', has crafted an intense but morally dubious picture, and though its lurid realism ought to be commended, 'Elite Squad' is best seen as propagandistic entertainment and not some intellectual treatise on statecraft, law & order, if anything, Padilha's feature film debut suggests he's the Joe 'Narc' Carnahan of Brazilian cinema: employing slick camera moves, shutter speed changes, gritty violence and constructing short, well choreographed, handheld shootouts. Narrated by Nascimento, you'll soon detect an undercurrent of self-aggrandising delusion; in that this unit clearly prides itself as the first line of defence against all manner of criminality, though it's not so much an incorruptible force of justice, as it is a glorified death squad in the tradition of 'Scuderie LeCoq' or 'Mão Branca'. "A strategy only has logic, when the mission has purpose" says Nascimento, and to Padilha's credit, we're placed in situations where life & death decisions are made in the blink of eye, but usually resolved in a hail of gunfire or a plastic bag over the head. It's a sad, complex situation over there; in that the predominately black slum dwellers have been impoverished by the white controlled state in a sinister, clandestine apartheid (as depicted in 'City Of God'), and yet many of these young Brazilians, descendants of the eight million or so Africans kidnapped by European colonists and sold into slavery, have embraced crime as a means to arm themselves against the state and rival gangs; the inevitable blowback being a drugs /gun crime epidemic. And you have to question what kind of state the powers that be are running, when a people are so embittered with their lot, that they'd rather spend all they have on high calibre weaponry; and turn their rolling shanty towns into fortified citadels, than contemplate any kind of engagement with Brasilia. Brazil, just like North America, England, France and other imperial nations, wanted slaves forever; but when it became apparent that those days were over: they swept them, and the legacy of their own crime, under the carpet (i.e. into the ghettos) thus ex-slaves, a constant reminder of the state's sin, wandered into an inchoate war, formed an independent, socio-economic sub-culture of sorts, but never quite capitalised upon their hard earned freedom. Everything seems to have an air of transparency in developing countries, a noticeable fragility in stark contrast to the often harsh conditions endured by it's people: and corruption is as brazen as anything else, unlike in our hemisphere; where corruption occurs on a far greater scale, but is usually done behind closed doors to sell the illusion of fair play. 'Elite Squad' is very similar to João Moreira Salles & Kátia Lund's excellent documentary 'News From A Personal War' which is included as a special feature on the 'City Of God' DVD, and in some ways; you're better off watching that, as its essentially the same thing only better lit, and doesn't rely on sensationalism to get the message across, for 'Elite Squad', to its detriment, regularly slips into OTT, gung-ho theatrics and at times almost resembles a Latin American version of 'The Shield' or your average Hollywood action movie. One of the reasons why 'News From A Personal War' worked so well, was because it identified extreme poverty as the common hell from which both cop and criminal fight to escape, it also depicted the widening gap between rich & poor in Rio and defined the paradigm of violence / detached plutocratic greed which keeps these forces at each other's throats. Some critics suggest Padilha's trying to create a documentary feel with the use of voiceover, though I found it was more in keeping with Scorcese's use of narration in 'Casino', especially since he'll use freeze frame at a point of action, it tends to go on a little longer than required, unlike in 'City Of God' where it was used sparingly to introduce each story, though you can't help but smile at 'Dirty Harry' style one-liners like: "when I see a movement against violence, I have the urge to give them a beating" or Capitão's classic: "You belong with the whores, the pimps and the abortion clinics". Morality is also up for debate, and though these characters often find themselves in contrived predicaments, neither cop nor criminal occupies a clear moral high ground, (though the film's incessant attempts at trying to tell us how to think, tend to backfire) police brutality clashes with a petit bourgeois middle class who're accused of facilitating the drugs trade with their use of cannabis, and yet our narrator is haunted by the death of a suspect he turned state's evidence only to release him back into the city a marked man. 'ES' never quite sells us on the idea that a unit has to resemble a cult to be effective; for 'Elite Squad', like cops the world over, aren't above carrying out massacres or crimes, as anyone whose seen Hector Babenco's excellent, fact based Brazilian prison drama 'Carandiru' will know; Padilha also neglects to mention that anytime Central America's cousin up north decides to orchestrate a coup, its usually in-house paramilitaries like 'Elite Squad' who're put on the payroll, and told to do their dirty work (see 'The War On Democracy' for details). Justice never prevails through incessant bureaucracy or ideological paradigms, for as Jonathan Swift wrote in his 'Critical Essay upon the Faculties of the Mind' (1707): "Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through." And that's the real problem, 'Elite Squad' may strafe some drug barons here and there, but they'll never get close to an industry that operates within, and rots the core of the very system they serve. 'Elite Squad' lacks narrative fluidity and isn't as good as 'City Of God' nor as informative as 'News From A Personal War', nonetheless, it's an enthralling, well-acted movie, and if nothing else; you'll learn how to say "motherf***er" in Portuguese. With films like 'Man Of The Year', 'Ó Paí, Ó' and 'Linha de Passeis', Brazil is fast becoming one to watch in the world of international cinema, though 'Elite Squad' falls short of its contemporaries and instead makes for entertaining, if brutal, propaganda.
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Tough Brazilian police thriller set in 1997 Rio de Janeiro, just before the visit of the Pope. Captain Nascimento (Wagner Moura) of BOPE (Special Police Operation Battalion) has plenty to keep him occupied. Not only is he trying to clear the drug gangs from the area in which the Pope will be staying, but he is also trying to find a successor to take over BOPE from him. He is desperate to take on a safer job so that he can be closer to his pregnant wife. Meanwhile, Neto (Caio Junqueira) and Matias (Andre Ramiro), two close friends, are so disillusioned with their careers in the Military Police that they decide to transfer to BOPE in the hope of better times. Linking up with Captain Nascimento for training, the two young policemen form a close bond with their new commander. But which one will succeed him? The film is directed by Jose Padilha ('Bus 174').
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Elite Squad presents an astonishing and intimate look at Rio de Janeiro’s vast and intricate web of police corruption. It is 1997 and hundreds of thousands live in Rio’s notorious favelas – the volatile slums on the edge of the city. Drug trafficking militias have complete control within the slums while the police run their criminal enterprises outside. Being an honest cop in this environment makes you a target for both. The elite BOPE force (State Police Special Operations Battalion) fights to combat drug trafficking, but keeping order has its price and their actions blur the line between right and wrong, justice and revenge. Two of the force’s newest recruits, Neto (Caio Junqueira) and Matias (Andre Ramiro), are childhood friends: one is quick on the trigger to maintain order and the other forced to compromise his ideals. Together they are the perfect replacement for outgoing BOPE Captain Nascimento, but alone they may not have what it takes to survive.
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