Next week, one of Brazil’s most highly anticipated films is coming out, Tropa de Elite 2, or Elite Squad 2. The first film, Tropa de Elite, was one of Brazil’s biggest cinematic successes, despite the fact that a pirated DVD was released before its premiere and thousands of people saw the movie before it came out. The film follows characters from the first movie, BOPE (Rio SWAT team) members fighting drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro.
The movie comes from one of Brazil’s most renowned directors, José Padilha. Padilha took a big risk with the first film, which was based on a book written by a former BOPE officer, and caused a lot of anger amongst some policemen. Despite the incident with the pirated DVD, the movie was a huge success – so much so that some people worried viewers were romanticizing the film’s violence, which was intended to be shocking and not inspiring.
Now, with Tropa de Elite 2, Padilha hopes to repeat the first movie’s success and prevent another DVD debacle. He also hopes he viewers will regonize the film’s more national issues, rather than just a story about Rio’s problems with crime.
Watch the subtitled trailer below for Tropa de Elite 2. Viewer discretion advised for violence.
