One could view this movie as a new chapter in the saga inaugurated by the acclaimed City of God. Also set in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, this action-packed film focuses on the moral decisions of the leader of a special street combat police force. Every corner of the city and level of society is awash in drug dealing and organized crime. Given this scenario, is the use of ‘official’ corruption justified by the aim of eradicating a much greater source of evil? Such questions arise in a film that mixes Foucauldian discourse with highly effective action sequences and a rather annoying exercise in off-screen narration - an element which ends up betraying the realistic approach of the story. Instead of letting the images speak for themselves, director Padilha superimposes the thoughts and judgments of different characters in order to steer the story onto a path that the viewer feels obliged to take. Overall a rounded, noteworthy film, despite the inadequate implementation of The Thin Red Line-like techniques./DH

Directed by José Padilha (Brazil, Argentina 2007) with Wagner Moura, Caio Junqueira, André Ramiro. Spanish with German subtitles. Starts August 6