"News From A Private War" - from the 'City of God'

Note: Although this film is in Portuguese, there are big yellow ENGLISH SUBTITLES hard encoded and burned in. ‘News From A Private War’ is a standalone one hour documentary about the war between police and drug dealers in the favela (slum) of Rio De Janeiro. Both ‘News’ and ‘City of God’ deal with the same war and both films were produced and directed by the same group of key people. ‘News’ is a gripping and engrossing documentary for a lot of reasons, but IMO it's worth watching just for the interview with Helio Luz, the Chief of Police. He's the guy in the blue shirt in the first picture below. And here are a few excerpts from what he has to say: ‘I’ll say it myself: ‘The police are corrupt. The institution was designed to be violent and corrupt. …. To protect the State and the elite. I practice law enforcement to protect and serve the status quo; no beating around the bush. …. How do you keep the underprivileged under control ....? [Interviewer: “With repression?”] How else would it be? We are here to protect this unfair society [and keep the underprivileged] under control.” Being a documentary about an unpopular subject and being included as Extra Material for ‘City’ didn't get ‘News’ a lot of attention. For example, on IMDB it received only 188 votes. But here are a few comments from people who saw it: 'One of the greatest documentaries ever made!! If you want to know what exactly happens in Rio, how is the real relationship of the police and the drug dealers, this is the masterpiece to watch. Nothing will be the same again. You will face life in a completely different way.' [Comment on IMDB. October 9, 2002. schulz-3 (jamoraes@amcham.com.br) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.] ‘Thought provoking. Shocking. Real. This documentary provides a first hand look at the violence found just miles outside of the picturesque images associated with Rio De Janeiro. .... It will open your eyes to urban warfare on a scale beyond comparison .... Whose side do you take? Are the dealers actually the good guys, helping people, protecting their communities, and filling a vacuum left by the government? Are the police the bad guys? They sure look like bad guys in these two films. And what, if anything, will stop -- or at least slow down -- this cycle of drugs, guns, and poverty? When the Police Chief himself says that becoming a dealer would be a logical choice for a slum dweller, it seems clear there are few easy answers.’ [Edited and expanded comment. IMDB. May 9, 2005. Originally written by David Abella. Additions by paradan.] Even though ‘News’ was made almost four years before ‘City of God’, I'd suggest watching ‘City of God’ first. In ‘City’ the war and characters are fictionalized to some extent. Then ‘News’ shows how close "City" is to real life. It's like a one-two punch, with each film increasing the impact of the other. Here's the synopsis from IMDB: ’Documentary about urban violence in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro. Policemen, drug dealers, and shantytown dwellers get trapped into a daily war that knows no winners.’ Sounds boring, right? Trust me, it's not. They should have tried harder. Rated 7.2 out of 10 with 188 votes. And here's the IMDB link: Link to IMDB Enjoy -- paradan Rip Specs: Video: XVID, 640x400, 29.97 frame rate. Audio: MPGA, 2 channels, 48,000 Hz Sample Rate, 192 kb/s Bit rate. Duration: 56:42. Converted from VIDEO_TS files with TMPEGEnc 4.0. Language is Portuguese with large yellow English subtitles hard encoded.