Plot Summary

Directed by José Padilha, (Bus 174) and written by Padilha, Academy Award®- nominated writer Bráulio Mantovani (City of God), and Rodrigo Pimentel, Elite Squad is a visually saturated and incendiary film. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival, it has sparked social debate since its Brazilian premiere. Based on the true accounts from Pimentel's 19 years as a military police officer and captain, the film is an uncompromising and visceral journey behind one of Rio's most controversial jobs. Padilha's solid direction and intelligent commentary on the cycle of violence has one question: What price is paid to keep order in a domestic war that rages only feet from the tranquil beaches of one of the world's most famous cities?