Film Number 22 on PinHeadLarry145's 30 Days 30 Countries Film Challenge!

Brazil, 2007

At any given moment, if you turned on Elite Squad you would probably see something that resembles a high octane Spec Ops action flick. Like something out of a video game. Shots echoing in the background, bombed out buildings and rebel soldiers running through rubble. Is this Russia or some post-Apocalyptic battleground?

No.

It's just a shitty favela in Rio.

I've been picking movies for this challenge that are either culturally important to their home countries or represent the people and the arts of the place. I think I've done a good job so far (with a couple exceptions) but this one proved to be a different beast. Elite Squad is a trip into the destructive and unglamorous life in the Brazilian favelas and the corrupt cops that keep them in line. This film seems a little confused with its messages and tries to pull you in many directions. This makes the viewer feel a little odd at the end. Like something wasn't quite right. But the ride to get there was an interesting experience to say the least.

Elite Squad is a sprawling tale of police brutality versus urban decay. It's got heavy handed moral lessons and tries hard to get you to sympathize with both sides of the spectrum. The film does this with a multitude of supporting characters and parallel story lines all weaving together. Before the Pope is scheduled to visit Rio, a police force begins to assemble an Elite Squadron tasked with cleaning up the surrounding area by any means necessary. The film follows characters on the side of the law and characters on the streets. The viewer sees police brutality as they tear across the favelas shooting first and asking questions later. We then see drug dealers and criminals wielding AK's and using children as bait. There are a couple scenes that would resemble something out of a war movie or action film, but its real life in the streets. We see characters off the battlefield struggling with life outside the violent streets as well, so the film is effective on both levels. But unfortunately that's about it with this film.

While Elite Squad was an entertaining flick, I find that there isn't much else to say about it. It had good action scenes and some of the characters dimensions were explored admirably. But I feel like the film was a failure on a thematic level and did too little with a message too large. At the end I didn't feel satisfied or pulled in any specific direction. I felt almost numb. Is this meant to be the effect? Am I meant to feel confused about the situation there? Like there is no definite answer? Probably. Most likely so. But it didn't feel like a satisfying film aside from a spectacle level. It was still action packed and shot beautifully that captured the look and feel of Rio.

And that feel is sweaty.

Always sweaty.