Review of Elite Squad (2007) by Aidan H — 15 Mar 2010

Yet another hard-core exploration of the relationship between cops and dealers in the Rio favelas but this time focusing more on the stresses and strains of working for the city's notorious Special Operations task force.

The film follows the exploits of two career-hungry cops who join up after their corrupt commander discovers their plan to refinance their operational budget with his protection money, hurling them into a hellish and dehumanising training regime where humiliation and punishment is deemed necessary to weed out the corrupt and the weak.

These guys make Mossad look like a knitting circle as they dish out torture and random violence throughout the favelas in their quest to make the area safe for the Pope's visit. Fast-paced and tightly edited, ES makes no political statement (bar a cursory finger-pointing at the city's rich kids whose drug habits create the chaos and death in the slums) but instead provides a vibrant, exciting and depressing portrayal of Brazil's drug culture.

Thumbs up and cannot wait for the sequel.