Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within | |
---|---|
Directed by | José Padilha |
Written by | José Padilha Bráulio Mantovani Rodrigo Pimentel |
Produced by | José Padilha Marcos Prado |
Starring | Wagner Moura Irandhir Santos André Ramiro Milhem Cortaz André Mattos Maria Ribeiro |
Cinematography | Lula Carvalho |
Edited by | Daniel Rezende |
Music by | Pedro Bromfman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Zazen Produções |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | Brazil |
Language | Portuguese |
Budget | US$ 9,509,65) |
Box office | $63,027,681[2] |
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (
Like its predecessor, the film was met with critical acclaim and became the largest box office ticket seller and highest-grossing film of all time in Brazil, ahead of
Plot
Thirteen years after the events of the
Four years prior, Nascimento arrives at
Nascimento learns that
Nascimento expands BOPE's arsenal, personnel, armored vehicles and helicopters, enabling them to eliminate entire drug cartels from
Four years later, disguised militiamen steal rifles from a police station in
Devastated by Matias' death, Nascimento, aware Fraga has been investigating the militia, taps his phone. Vidal, also investigating, enters one of Rocha's favelas and finds the Governor's re-election material. She phones Fraga but is caught by Rocha's group, who kill her and her photographer. Nascimento listens to the call, realizes Fraga is now a target, takes the recording and goes after him; as he waits outside Fraga's building, Fraga, Rafael and Rosane arrive and are attacked in a drive-by shooting. Nascimento shoots the assailant, but Rafael is wounded. They take him to the hospital and Nascimento hands the recording to Fraga, whereupon he detains and assaults Guaracy, threatening to kill everyone involved if his son dies.
The Assembly opens an investigation into the journalists' disappearances based on the recording delivered by Fraga. However, Nascimento is accused of tapping Fraga's phone to spy on Rosane, forcing his resignation. Believing his militia will be scapegoats, Rocha attempts to ambush him after a visit to Rafael; however, Nascimento, expecting an attack, is aided by BOPE officers. They shoot some of the assailants, but Rocha escapes.
Nascimento is called to testify and implicates the Governor, Guaracy and many other individuals such as Gregorio Fortunato, a legislator and TV host who supported the militia, as many corrupt officers and associates are murdered to prevent them from testifying. The Governor, however, is re-elected and Guaracy becomes representative for Rio. The final scene shows Nascimento reflecting over the political scenario in Brazil and stating that "as long as the conditions for the system remain, it will remain". He visits Rafael as he slowly wakes from his coma.
Cast
- Wagner Moura as Roberto Nascimento, lieutenant colonel of the PMERJ and State Subsecretary for Public Safety.
- Irandhir Santos as Diogo Fraga, a history teacher who becomes a state representative after the Bangu I controversy. Rosane's new husband, he is a left-wing politician who runs for state representative in the Federal Chamber of Deputies. Fraga's role was inspired by real life politician Marcelo Freixo.[8]
- André Ramiro as Captain André Matias, a BOPE officer.
- Maria Ribeiro as Rosane Fraga, ex-wife of Nascimento current wife of Fraga.
- Pedro Van-Hel as Rafael "Rafa" Nascimento, the teenage son of Nascimento and Rosane.
- Sandro Rocha (article on Portuguese Wikipedia) as Captain/Major Rocha, one of the main antagonists of the film. Rocha had a small role in the first film, being one of the sargeants under Fabio's control.
- Milhem Cortaz portrays Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel Fabio Barbosa.
- Tainá Müller plays Clara, a journalist. In the film, Matias reads her interview on the scrapping of the BOPE, after being expelled from the same battalion because of the events in the rebellion in Bangu I and then assists the Deputy Diogo Fraga in investigating of the militias.
- André Mattos as Fortunato, state representative and host of a tabloid TV show.
- Seu Jorge as Beirada, a convict responsible for the Bangu I uprising.
Production
Casting and characters
The first member to be acknowledged was Wagner Moura, who returns with his character Roberto Nascimento, now promoted from
Cast preparation
Between November and December 2009, before recording for the film started, every actor - except Maria Ribeiro, pregnant at the time - had a training routine, led by Fátima Toledo. Part of the cast also went through a
Filming and post-production
Filming started on January 25 of 2010, with the participation of eighty real cops as extras. On February 1, recording took place at Morro
Release
Strategy against leaks
After the first film leaked and got in the hands of millions of people before the official release date,[9] the Elite Squad 2 crew created a strategy to avoid the same thing happening to the prequel. Before production began, Marcos Prado informed that, "This time we will have a special security scheme. We will have a security team watching over the editing, transporting the reels, and paying close attention to every little detail. The raw material will be preserved". Director José Padilha concluded, "We won't outsource any of the steps. We are doing the whole post-production at our company, inside our 'caveirão'". The script was sent to the National Agency of Cinema under the title "Organized crime" and was printed with red ink, to avoid photocopying. The production unit rented an apartment, monitored by cameras, where editing took place. Four people had access to the place, only through passwords, and no means of accessing the Internet. Another strategy used was the marking of each copy sent to the theaters; that way if any of the copies was illegally recorded, they would know where it came from. Military policemen from São Paulo also helped in avoiding the leak. The final picture, still with no sound, was put in a safe.
Domestic release
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within broke national opening weekend records in Brazil, with more than 1.25 million spectators during its first weekend.
United Kingdom release
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within was released in the UK by Revolver Entertainment [12] on August 12, 2011.
United States release
The film held its United States premiere in January 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival. Since, it has screened at several festivals, including Austin's Fantastic Fest. The film was released in New York City on November 11, 2011, and in Los Angeles on November 18, 2011.
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 91% approval rating based on reviews from 46 critics, and a weighted average of 7 out of 10. The website's critical consensus states, "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is a bleak, violent descent into the Brazilian underbelly, ripping into the favelas with unstoppable and kinetic force."[13] At Metacritic, the film received an average score of 71% based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]
Possible sequel
At a press conference after the exhibition "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" at the Berlin Festival José Padilla was asked about the possible consistency. He ruled out the possibility of launching an "Elite Squad 3". "I told you everything I wanted to say about violence," the director said.[15] Wagner Moura raised the possibility that the third film would be made without the character he interpreted. "Captain Nascimento has nowhere to go from the point of view of dramaturgy, for the big money that it can produce," he said in an interview with GQ magazine in September.[16]
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Brazilian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ 'Tropa de elite 2' chega ao cinemas dia 8 de outubro, diz blog oficial
- ^ "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2011)". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2010) - José Padilha". AllMovie.
- ^ Divulgadas as primeiras cenas de 'Tropa de elite 2'
- ^ "Tropa de Elite 2 é o candidato brasileiro ao Oscar 2012". R7. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "63 Countries Vie for 2011 Foreign Language Film Oscar". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
- ^ "9 Foreign Language Films Vie for Oscar". Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
- ^ "BRAZIL: Reality of Militias Is Fiercer than Fiction | Inter Press Service". www.ipsnews.net. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
- ^ Cajueiro, Marcelo. "'Elite' stirs controversy, box office". Variety. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within". Archived from the original on 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
- ^ "Tropa 2 é o filme nacional mais visto da história". R7 - Entretenimento (in Portuguese). 12 August 2010. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ "News: "Revolver armed for Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within and Turnout"". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ "Pirataria do filme "Tropa de Elite" preocupa governo". AdoroCinema.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Pirataria do filme "Tropa de Elite" preocupa governo". Cineclick. Archived from the original on 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2018-05-04.