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Posted : 12 years ago on 24 April 2012 07:57
Since this movie won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film festival, I was really eager to check it out. Honestly, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, it reminded me of this other great Brazilian flick, 'Cidade de Deus'. The big difference was that they didn't only focus on the Favelas but, this time, you get a glimpse on all the layers involved in the drug industry (the violent drug dealers, the population of the Favelas, the corrupted police forces, the students who buy some drugs, and of course the BOPE squad). The other big difference with 'Cidade de Deus' was the directing style. Indeed, whereas the former had a rather kynetic and fancy directing style, this movie was more realistic and some parts even felt like a documentary. Personally, I really enjoyed this movie and I thought it had actually a very strong anti-drug message. Indeed, if you are junkie, since you are addicted, of course, you need to score some drugs, that's another story. But consider all the recreative users who gets some dope for the week-end, do they realize all the suffering and misery involved in the process so they can enjoy their lign of coke? My only critic concerning this feature was that it was rather messy and confusing, especially the beginning. Still, since the situation in Brazil is a real mess, it was actually rather effective. Anyway, I was really impressed by this movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
Elite Squad Reviews
Elite Squad review
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 22 November 2011 03:25
Elite Squad is a mostly fine piece of action film making that manages to separate itself from its brethren through its frenetic, kinetic pacing. The story itself is serviceable - elite BOPE leader craves retirement, searches for a replacement in two seemingly different personalities. One is the live wire Neto, the other is idealistic lawyer in training Matias.
The action set pieces themselves aren't particularly memorable outside of the Brazilian favela setting but the movie does an excellent job at examining the complicated relationships between the Brazilian police and the general public. It's the rare action film that actually has something meaningful and important to say as is expected from Bus 174 director Jose Padilha. It is this skillful combination of social commentary and pure shooting action that makes the film stand out. That being said the documentary style cinematography quickly grates on the visual nerves and the ending is a bit of a cop out - albeit a cop out that really leaves the story open to interpretation. It is one of those ending that will either leave your mind blown by the bold artistic decision or will really aggravate you because it fails to wrap up the film's most important central question how far can nobility take a man in an ignoble, inhuman world? It won't be for everyone but it is still a rather fine movie.
The action set pieces themselves aren't particularly memorable outside of the Brazilian favela setting but the movie does an excellent job at examining the complicated relationships between the Brazilian police and the general public. It's the rare action film that actually has something meaningful and important to say as is expected from Bus 174 director Jose Padilha. It is this skillful combination of social commentary and pure shooting action that makes the film stand out. That being said the documentary style cinematography quickly grates on the visual nerves and the ending is a bit of a cop out - albeit a cop out that really leaves the story open to interpretation. It is one of those ending that will either leave your mind blown by the bold artistic decision or will really aggravate you because it fails to wrap up the film's most important central question how far can nobility take a man in an ignoble, inhuman world? It won't be for everyone but it is still a rather fine movie.
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