Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Living… in a shabby Rio de Janeiro apartment with his wife, Rosanne. Nascimento is hardly ever home, and must leave at any time of day if he gets called into work. His job is his life.
Profession… captain of BOPE, the SWAT team-like force that primarily aims to pacify the favelas of Rio by taking out the drug organizations that run them. Nascimento is constantly under extreme pressure from superiors to get the job done– as the saying goes, “mission assigned is mission accomplished.” Nascimento hates the police, who are corrupt and often undermine BOPE’s objective by taking bribes from drug lords. Though BOPE views itself as being above corruption, they won’t hesitate to employ brutal torture methods to get the information they need.
Interests… rock climbing with his wife.
Relationship Status… married to Rosanne. They are expecting their first child. Rosanne wants Nascimento to quit BOPE and take a lower-intensity job for the sake of her and their baby. She wants them to have a normal marriage.
Challenge… finding a suitable successor to take over his position. It’s not so easy— few applicants prove to be true BOPE material. BOPE screens hopeful officers, many of them policemen, by putting them through a series of brutal physical and psychological gauntlets in effort “to eliminate the weak and, mainly, the corrupt.” Only five percent of applicants make it to the final stage. “BOPE prepares men for war, and don’t tell me that’s inhuman,” he says. “Rio is a city under siege.”
Personality… intense. Nascimento is most in his element when out in the field, shooting it out in favelas. He occasionally lets his guard down, such as during BOPE meetings, and brings out his more relaxed, humorous side. But for the most part he is intensity personified, a vicious drill sergeant and ruthless killer committed with all his heart to the BOPE brotherhood and mission.
