The Elite Squad takes Berlin's Golden Bear
Story by Jack Foley
A VIOLENT film about corrupt drug squad officers in Brazil has won The Golden Bear, the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival.
The Elite Squad (or Tropa De Elite) was among the most keenly anticipated films of the festival given the response to its release in Brazil, where it generated unprecedented interest from cinema-goers for its unflinching portrayal of a police force willing to torture and kill unarmed suspects.
Set in Rio de Janeiro in 1997, the film follows the fortunes of police officer Nascimento, the leader of an elite commando unit, who finds himself in a quandary when assigned to lead a rapid response force that has been given the task of maintaining law and order in a favela ruled by drug dealers.
Unable to come up with a suitable successor for his job, he has no choice but to carry out the assignment himself. But the fact that his wife, Rosane, is about to give birth to their first child and pleads with him every day to stop putting his life on the line, doesn’t make things any easier.
Commenting on the prize, the film’s producer Marcos Prado said the award “gives us the strength to go forward”.
Other Berlin prizes
A further award at the prestigious film festival went to the UK’s Sally Hawkins, who was named best actress for Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh’s latest about a London primary schoolteacher.
The 31-year-old London-born actress also appeared in Leigh’s last film, the abortion drama Vera Drake, as well as several episodes of Little Britain and controversial lesbian drama Tipping The Velvet.
Paul Thomas Anderson took the best director prize for his Oscar-tipped oil epic There Will Be Blood – although its star, Daniel Day-Lewis missed out on the best actor prize to Iran’s Reza Naji, who triumphed for The Song of Sparrows.
Another winner was Lake Tahoe, by Mexico’s Fernando Eimbcke, which was named most innovative film.
In total, 21 pictures were screened in competition at the German festival, the 58th of its kind.