Description
Elite Squad (Portuguese: Tropa de Elite , pronounced [ˈtɾɔpɐ dʒi eˈlitʃi] lit. '"Elite Corps"') is a 2007 Brazilian crime film based on the novel Elite da Tropa by Luiz Eduardo Soares, André Batista, and Rodrigo Pimentel. Directed by José Padilha from a screenplay by Padilha, Bráulio Mantovani, and Pimentel, the film stars Wagner Moura, Caio Junqueira, and André Ramiro. In Elite Squad , Roberto Nascimento (Moura), a Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE) captain, leads a crackdown on a series of Rio de Janeiro neighbourhoods to prepare for the 1997 state visit of Pope John Paul II.
Inspired by the Military Police and their related arms, Elite Squad is the second feature and first film by Padilha, after the documentary Bus 174 (2002).
Elite Squad was an overwhelming critical and commercial success, and became a cultural phenomenon in Brazil. The film won the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival. Its sequel, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within , released in Brazil on October 8, 2010, holds industry records in the country for ticket sales and gross revenue.
*[lit.]: literal translation
