rio de janeiro = hell? - Tropa de Elite (2007) Discussion

is worse

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Hey *beep* u what hell do you know about my contry or my city you stupid *beep*
I'm carioca and I've already livid in some *beep* up place in here in their worst time of course we have or problems but its all about politics here you should see elite squad 2 then you'll have a full picture and then if think a little you'll realize the thruth about my city and our situation
*beep* dont talk about things that u dont understand our problems are beyond resolution but my city is much more *beep* wonderfull than your and our women too

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[–] FrederickWit 15 years ago

In Rio de Janeiro the richest and the poorest live very close, but you could totally avoid the "war" area... in fact, it's very common to have cities like that in South America. In some countries (like mine), I can't even recall a neighborhood inhabited by richs 100%, there are always poor ones mixed in the middle.

Rio is a beautiful city, one of the most important touristic places in Brazil. But yeah, the Favela is there too... and they constantly fight with the police... but according to what I heard from my brazilian friends, it's really not that common for the BOPE to confront people from the Favela... but well... I don't really know that much... A carioca should explain this a little, haha.

-----------------
EL GATO

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[–] EasternMafia 15 years ago

thx to god u are not born there
wars, hates, killings.. waste of having a good life

by the way this film is totally perfect, without any mistake!!

/////////

go travel. u will not live for ever

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[–] marinadilua 15 years ago

I'm brazilian. I'm not from Rio, (I live in the capital, Brasília) but my family is from there. So I visit the city every year. And I never watched this movie, you see. It was a big hit here in Brazil but I simply refused to watch it because it seems elitist, afterall. I mean, I've watched lot of scenes on tv. Rio IS a place with very difficult situations. But that film is too sensationalist. And it shows BOPE like the heroes. And BOPE are the evil ones. In Brazil we need, most of all, people who studies sociology to help police to do things right. Police - most of - in Brazil is pure rubbish (to poor people). We should remember that there are human beings in the Favelas, cause and the media in Brazil likes to sell those stuff like "Tropa de Elite" without real criticism. It's because people usually like that sensationalism.

But be calm, any tourist that come to Brazil go to places like this, if they don't chose to. Rio is a fabulous place. There's awfull problems, yeah. Police kill inocent people (from the favelas) often, for example. THAT is just absurd. Cause THEY never go arrested, right? But even if there's, of course, a lot of criminals, you should remember Brazil is a big country and there's much more variety of people than you imagine. To really know Brazil, just a few movies could help. But not "Tropa de Elite" or anything like this. "A Cidade de Deus" is so better, and it talks about favelas also! And there's so many others I can name after. But be careful with "Globo" films, cause they almost controll brazilian cinema, and they're often just want to sell there own bourgeois ideal

The only truth of the movie is the cruelty of BOPE. Cause here in Brazil the authorities and the media prefer to solve problems without studying the crime and the reasons of it. We should (not only in Brazil, but in the world) discuss the "root" of the problem more often.

ps. Anyway, if we think only in a cinematographic point of view, that movie must be ok. Afterall, I'm sure USA is not the way it's shown for us in the action blockbusters movies. And Tropa de Elite is exactly that in Brazil: A blockbuster movie.

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[–] marinadilua 15 years ago

My english is not good at all, I hope you all understand.

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[–] marianafc 14 years ago

It is just so sad to see someone who hasn't even taken their time to watch the movie boasting like they know everything.

First of all, this movie's not elitist. Actually it kinda puts the blame on the elite, so quit the socialist cheap talk.

Second of all, don't go around saying Globo did this or that, that is so ridiculous. Honestly, go watch the movie before you talk about it.

To everyone: BOPE are not evil. BOPE are just better prepared policemen. Some sort of local SWAT. And, no, Rio is not hell. This happens inside the favelas, and, hey, people outside them do buy drugs after all, don't they? Nothing much different from New York.

It's funny how american movies, for example, always show violent PD or FBI agents and no one takes their time minding how cruel they can be. This is just a movie and, yes, there's a lot of reality to it. Those things do happen, but they happen everywhere. Tourists and most citizens should not be affected by this mayhem. I do live in Rio and I lead a normal life, just about the same as I did when I was in Miami last year.

War against drugs is global.

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[–] marinadilua 14 years ago

I watched it these days. And my opinion didn't changed much. I liked the movie, and I take it back when I say there's no criticism. It's interesting, afterall.
BUT I still hating the effect this movie had. Cause people thinking that is a good way to solve problem with BOPE methods sounds so wrong to me. And sometimes they provoke even bigger problems because of their "power".
Im against that.
So, what it has to do with my opinion about the movie? It shouldnt affect. But I just say I get sick hearing people defending the BOPE because of the movie.
And yes, I think it happens because the media monopoly we are so used to. People need to recognize that the problem is so much bigger than "ok, so lets kill them all".

Ok, so finally... I just say it is a good movie that was, unfortunetaly, misunderstood. I mean, it should make people think, instead of make them repeating quotes from Wagner Moura's character as if he's an example or something.

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[–] marianafc 14 years ago

People quote Moura's character because there's a lot of comedy to it. It's rather interesting how the movie is serious and funny at the same time. It's something that draws people's attention, which is genius.

Don't judge people. None ever said they didn't understand the meaning of this movie. The fact that people can still make jokes about the world's disgraces is what keeps people smiling, because if we were to sulk about reality, we would all be drowning in each other's tears.

I, for instance, have watched this movie several times. First time was a shock, I felt sick like I was about to puke scene after scene. Second time I was just paying attention to how hot Nascimento is (which is futile). From third time on, I couldn't watch without bawling my eyes out.

Still I quote Nascimento, make fun of his attitude and talk about how hot he is. Doesn't mean I don't get the meaning of the movie, which makes me cry every time I even think about it.

Give people some credit, they deserve it.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] K-nightt 14 years ago

Comunistinha de shopping? Be nice to the lady, mrcapone.
Anyway, I loved this movie (it's in my top 3, actually), and I think that it does reflect the injustice in how cops treat marginalized citizens (this has been said). The adage that any big city has similar problems rings true, I suppose, but Rio does stand out for the reasons some people mentioned; in Sao Paulo the neighborhoods are much more well "defined" as far as distribution of wealth is concerned; there are places in which you only have your middle or upper class folks (even though crime does leak in). This differs from Rio, you can be in Leblon but still find shacks growing from the ground up at several spots, it's a less "purist" geographic reality. And I don't have too much first-hand experience, I've been very few times to Rio (I had things stolen on 2 occasions, a spare tire and a stuffed animal - I was 5 years old), but a buddy of mine lived there for 3 years, and he conveyed the feeling of a "civil war" in the air, always dressing down when walking the streets, never stopping at red lights after dark. And it doesn't seem that any particular area is that safe. Obviously this can happen anywhere in the world; I live in Baltimore, with one of the highest murder rates in the country (and americans love their guns, so there's a lot of shooting), but I feel safe in a number of places, because there is something of a known boundary. In Brazil, I had the privilege of living in a nice little city of 300,000, and even there violence is starting to become an issue. Anyway, I'm off topic... this movie poses a veiled critique of how the BOPE works, it is unfair and inhumane to the innocent people who die senselessly; but this seems universal.. Jose Padilha didn't want people praising the BOPE, but he failed in this quest.. I guess he should've made Wagner Moura play the part of Marcinho in the morro do Dende, maybe then we could sympathize with the "bad guys".

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[–] konam 14 years ago

IT IS exactly like the movie portrays......BUT......Living in Brazil is really far from realities of the middle east.

I live in Salvador, a very violent city of 3 million people.. And, basically, depending on your actions you can live a happy normal life. You just have to avoid putting yourself on dangerous situations, such as walk at 2am on a dangerous place and the like.

Of course, that sometimes violence comes knocking at your door, but in most cases it wont.

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[–] Ogasso 14 years ago

No te metes en la coca!

Siempre tener ojos en las calles!

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[–] henrique-18 14 years ago

I´d like to disagree with mrcapone. But I can´t.

I really would like to not misjudge or act with some sort of prejudice the girl that made such statements but I can´t either.

I can´t because I am living in Brasilia for the last 4 years, after moving from a small city in the southern region. I am in my late 20´s and I assure you that teenagers and most of the young adults (20-30´s) that live in Brasilia have no idea of what is the REAL Brazil.

Like some people say, Brasilia is phantasy island. The environment on which she was raised makes her think in a total different way. She has no idea of what is struggle for a living, she has no idea about real urban violence, she has no idea about actions and consequences, etc.

Seriously, I won´t waste my time here, but most of her opinion can be thrown in a trashcan. Mostly because she has not real life experiences on her background and because her environment is shielded from most of what makes us people behave like humans living under harsh conditions.

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[–] carioca_gin 14 years ago

ei e quanto a vc oq vc sabe do rio vc ja moro aki?
pq se naum cale a porra da boka bandido tem msm é q morrer bandido num pensa em direitos humanos quando queima alguem vivo bandido não pensa em porra nenhuma a naum ser vai mata o desgraçado q fez algo q ele naum goste e na maior parte do tepo é besteira e bandido gosta de estudanteszinhos de sociologia drogados de merda q pensa em direitos humanos pq quando alguem pensa dessa vez esse fdp morre e num mata mais ninguem vcs saum os primeiros fdp a falar naum matem o probrezinho ele naum teve escolha moro na favela naum teve condições de vencer e se aliciou ser querer ao trafico va se fuder porra eu morei na favela tive pessimas condições e ai to aki e to bem cursando faculdade e ganhando meu dinheiro
ser bandido é escolha pq pras crianças q vivem akela realidade bandido é quase heroi as vistas deles tem tudo e podem tudo criança precisa de educação vagabundo ladrão q mata um maldito tennis merece morrer

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[–] CoyotePeyote 13 years ago

I lived and worked in Rio de Janeiro for over 20 years, and this movies is a lot of *beep* regarding the BOPE.

While some parts are very truth, like the cops changing the bodies location, the BOPE is often irresponsible, kill people who are just walking by and have no respect for anyone. They torture because they believe its the right thing, I got two ribs broken because of a BOPE officer who did not like the shirt I was wearing. (It was a Cheech and Chong one, and no, I was not doing anything wrong, I was just walking in the streets.

Anyone trying to defend the BOPE, or the Rio PM is probably under 20 years old and still has a lot to learn.

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[–] jonepodesta 14 years ago

Rio de Janeiro is a special place... Its one of the most beautiful and rich in history in Brasil, and also the ugliest... But yeah, i've benn there a few times, and nothing have ever happened to me, but you walk with a lot of fear... In what city in the world the drug dealers, the bandits have settled a base where the power of state just cant get in? Can you picture something like that in your country? Usually the bad guys run from the cops, but not in Rio, they are there, and everybody knows....

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[–] gabrieleferreirasil 12 years ago

Course not!we have good things in Rio at the beachs you don't see things like this and Rio de Janeiro isn't worse than Iraq,never! we can wal peacefully on the streets without the fear of a bomb down from the sky at any minute! RIO IS NOT LIKE IN THIS MOVIE,NOT EVERYDAY!! and the favelas now aren't like this, things got better!not like WOW AWESOME but it's better, you're not going to be hit in the face or something of this kind,just people out of the state says things like this!we're not the best state or city of the world but we're not the worse!RIO ISN'T A LIVING HELL!!and Rio de Janeiro isn't just the CITY RIO DE JANEIRO!!we have others places in the state c'mon

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