With the World Cup in Brazil now in full swing, JOE brings you the second in our series of Brazilliant Brazilian films…
Sponsored by Pot Noodle Brazilian BBQ Steak Flavour
Brazil is known the world over for many wonderful things; its fantastic footballing stars, its magnificent must-see attractions and the fact that it is jam-packed full of bountiful, beautiful Brazilian babes.
Just like Ireland then so… *ugly tumbleweed rolls past*
In the build up to World Cup 2014 in Brazil, JOE has been bringing you the best of all that the super Samba-loving country has to offer and this week it’s the turn of the country’s finest film exports.
And don’t tell us that you’re one of those muppets who won’t watch films because they’ve got subtitles on the screen. “If I wanted to read JOE then I’d read a book JOE, y’know what I mean JOE?”
Cool. Well, you’re missing out if that is the case because over the next week, we’re bringing you five Brazilliant Brazilian films that you really should check out. First up was the superb Cidade De Deus (City Of God) and now it’s the turn of the excellent Elite Squad.
Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad) – 2007
Plot’s It All About?
Helmed by (new) Robocop director and friend of JOE, José Padilha, Tropa de Elite AKA Elite Squad is the semi-fictional tale of the Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE), the Special Police Operations Squad of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police. They’re pretty much like an American SWAT team… except that Colin Farrell doesn’t work for them.
The film follows Captain Roberto Nascimento (portrayed by the excellent Wagner Moura) as he attempts to prepare the slums for the 1997 visit of the Pope, essentially by wiping out the local drug dealers. And you thought you were having a tough day at work.
As the gravelly-toned voiceover man rightly says, “It’s time to clean up the crime… on both sides of the law.”
Why JOE loves it so much:
Controversy was the order of the day when Elite Squad was released, mainly due to the fact that the book that it was based on, ‘Elite da Tropa,’ had also been considered very controversial, especially as it had portrayed the BOPE as a kind of “killing machine.”
Not great publicity for the Government we’re sure you’ll agree.
However, the film has since become a huge cultural phenomenon in Brazil and rightly so, with its no-holds-barred approach to story-telling, expertly portraying the events that take place in the slums of one of Brazil’s biggest cities.
Check it out or, as the Brazilians say (we think), “Dê uma olhada”
Brought to you with thanks to Pot Noodle Brazilian BBQ Steak Flavour.
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