Tropa de Elite
How was I able to live in Berlin for my whole life and never go to the Berlinale? Well, it’s true that I haven’t been a film addict for such a long time, and I also know the reason perfectly well: Finally, the exams that I had were always more important to me than the films, but this year, I’m going to try to do both. It should be feasible, after all, the experience of certain films in the environment of a movie theater are absolutely priceless, especially when a film is dramatic and atmospheric.
Now, Tropa de Elite isn’t all too atmospheric, but there definitely is enough drama that kept me interested – actually it was quite a trip. I have heard about the criticism against the film which I find mostly oversensitive and overly political correct, brrr. This film gave off a very thoughtful, realistic and down-to-earth feeling to me in the way the story was told and the characters described – basically absolutely brilliant. Sure, it was not as mind-blowing as Dongmakgol (which is a complete different sort of film after all), but I was deeply impressed by this film. I also think that the depiction of cruelty and torture is absolutely necessary; it greatly contributes to the harsh reality that the film wants to show. This is a film that totally caters to my personal perception of “morality”: In my eyes, the film itself was free from any judgement or ideology, it just depicted reality without compromises, without saying anything about whether the characters are ‘good’ or ‘bad’. In fact, I think that both the beginning (that I find questionable) and the end (with Matias’ change towards a “real BOPE member”) shows this in a stunning way.
Speaking of the beginning, I fully comprehend what it means – and it means way too much. If society is the roots of all evil, people could get the idea to draw the conclusion that nobody is to blame when somebody commits a crime, because hey, society is to blame and how can you punish society? I make it sound very easy while it’s such a debatable issue, and I think the film does a brilliant job at showing this.
In sum, I can only say: What a great experience! It makes me wonder if I should give films rankings as well and finally revamp my index site.