Elite Squad

Director:

José Padilha

Writers:

José Padilha, Bráulio Mantovani, and 5 more credits »

Stars:

Wagner Moura, André Ramiro and Caio Junqueira

Official Sites:

TFM Distribution [France] | Official site [Brazil] | Add/edit official sites  »

Country:

Brazil | Netherlands | USA | Argentina

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (Venezuela) See more »

Also Known As:

Elite Squad See more »

Filming Locations:

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

set in 1997, in Rio de Janeiro, The Elite Squad follows the lives and exploits of a BOPE captain named Nascimento and his two potential heirs-in-command, Neto Gouveia and André Matias, rising from the ranks of general PMERJ (the state military police) to BOPE (later it is revealed that Nascimento wants to leave the force because his wife is pregnant with his first child).

While Neto Gouveia is a quick-tempered, tougher man, André Matias refuses to compromise his ideals of peace and equality. The latter is also a student of Law at a university in Rio, where his upper class friends are unaware of his job as a policeman, and are clearly shown as "spoiled" kids that tend to see the police as a repressive unit.

Preceding the visit of Pope John Paul II to Rio, the plot unfolds and we are introduced to the day-to-day drug busting operations inside Rio's favelas, ruled by well-armed and powerful drug lords, led by the Brazilian elite unit, BOPE, and the corruption that affects part of the PMERJ.