Elite Squad (2007)

1997, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his occupation while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope comes to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Director:

José Padilha

Writers:

André Batista (book), Bráulio Mantovani

Stars:

Wagner Moura, André Ramiro, Caio Junqueira

38 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wagner Moura	...	Capitão Nascimento
André Ramiro	...	Aspirante Matias
Caio Junqueira	...	Neto
Milhem Cortaz	...	Capitão Fábio
Fernanda Machado	...	Maria
Maria Ribeiro	...	Rosane
Paulo Vilela	...	Edu
Fernanda de Freitas	...	Roberta
André Di Mauro	...	Rodrigues (as André Mauro)
Fábio Lago	...	Claudio Mendes de Lima 'Baiano'
Erick Oliveira	...	Marcinho (as Erick Maximiano Oliveira)
Patrick Santos	...	Tinho
Rafael d'Avila	...	Xuxa
Roberta Santiago	...	Rose
Emerson Gomes	...	Xaveco

Storyline

In 1997, before the visit of the pope to Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento from BOPE (Special Police Operation Battalion) is assigned to eliminate the risks of the drug dealers in a dangerous slum nearby where the pope intends to be lodged. Captain Nascimento is trying to find a man to replace him because his wife is pregnant and he intends to quit the command and become a trainer of the new recruits. Meanwhile, the two idealistic friends Neto and Matias join the Military Police force expecting to become honest policemen and fight the criminals. However, they see only corruption, lack of competence and stupid bureaucracy in the Military Police, and after a serious incident in the Morro da Babilônia, they decide to join the BOPE. The lives of Capitain Nascimento, Neto and Matias are entwined along the next months, first in the tough training period and then in action against drug dealers. Nascimento believes that Neto could be his substitute, but his impulsive attitudes jeopardizes ...

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Plot Keywords:

military police | rio de janeiro brazil | brazilian military | police | brazil | 

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Taglines:

From the Academy Award nominated writer of 'City of God'

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Brazil] TFM Distribution [France]

Country:

Brazil USA Argentina

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Elite Squad

Filming Locations:

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

BRL 1,786,339 (Brazil), 7 October 2007, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,604, 21 September 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,060, 28 September 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,067,078, 22 June 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zazen Produções, Posto 9, Feijão Filmes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was originally meant to have Capitão Nascimento as a secondary character and Neto and Matias as the main characters. It was only after shooting was finished that director José Padilha and writer Bráulio Mantovani realized how impressed they were with Wagner Moura's charisma on screen and decided to edit the film with his voice over, changing the focus of the story and turning Capitão Nascimento into a main character.

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Quotes

Baiano: [Baiano is surrounded by the BOPE soldiers, having a handgun pointed to his face] ... N-not in the face, boss.
Capitão Nascimento: Say what?
Baiano: Don't shoot my f-face, you'll ruin my funeral...
Capitão Nascimento: [Capitão Nascimento puts the handgun away] Soldier 07, hand me the 12-gauge.
Baiano: Please no, boss...
Capitão Nascimento: [Handing the 12-gauge shotgun to soldier Mathias] Do him, he's yours.

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Connections

Featured in Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2010)

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Soundtracks

Shiny Happy People
Written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe
Performed by R.E.M.

User Reviews

A movie depicting the harsh reality and politics of Rio de Janeiro

Elite Squad has in my opinion surpassed the genius of Cidade de Deus. The movie is shot like a documentary, many times in fact I felt like I was intrigued and interested on how and what the police does to get around the city.

It is basically about the two main characters working their way up the police academy in Rio until they reach the BOPE unit. The training is shown to be very harsh, sometimes even dehumanizing. The movie depicts life of police men in the city and what they do to overcome the unfortunate bureaucracies. I will try hold myself to not say anymore because I do not want to spoil it for you.

This movie is violent. It is not unnecessary violence, because its depictions are said to be accurate. (Rio politicians have spoken about its veracity).

Even the production of this masterpiece was bounded by violence. While in production, part of the crew was kidnapped. An unedited version of Elite Squad together with dozens of fake weapons were stolen as well.

You will be amazed through out the whole film, thats a promise.