Elite Squad (2007)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Elite Squad (2007) --  J. Padilha

Brazilian action film with that gritty hand-held camera feel, very rough around the edges.  We follow members of the BOPE (Elite Squad), a special section of the police who deal with the hardest problems, particularly drug dealers in the slums.  The film makes Rio look like a hell hole.  Most of the cops are corrupt but those in the BOPE are supposed to be morally purer, more dedicated to eliminating crime and less willing to take bribes or require security money from the poor.  However, this doesn’t mean that they don’t indiscriminately assassinate and torture those who they see breaking the law – they do.  It is hard to tell whether our narrator (there is a constant voiceover presence here by Wagner Moura) is reliable or not.  He seems to be on the side of good, but the movie shows how he selects two recruits for BOPE (Caio Junqueira and André Ramiro) and then fashions them into tough guys who don’t hold back when there is an opportunity to bring some brutality to the bad guys.  Rich progressive kids working for NGOs ultimately get short shrift from them.  Moreover, our narrator knows he can finally retire when one of his protegees offs a baddie without trial.  The problem for me is that it is hard to tell where the filmmakers stand on this (the screenplay is apparently by some ex-BOPE squad members).  Do they really advocate killing those dealing in pot?  The amoral nature of the action reminds me of other violent films (where the violence itself seems to be what is meant to attract the audience) such as The Raid: Redemption (2011).  Still, this could be the actual reality in Rio/Brazil – and if so, that’s pretty scary.