José Padilha is an award-winning Brazilian director of the Brazilian films Bus 174,Tropa de Elite - which earned him a Golden Bear award at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival - and Tropa de Elite 2. The films form part of a trilogy, looking at the influence of media, police and, finally, polticians. His film Secrets of the Tribe premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. This documentary explores the allegations, first brought to light in the book Darkness in El Dorado, that anthropologists studying the Yanomami Indians in the 1960s and 70s engaged in bizarre and inappropriate interactions with the tribe, including sexual and medical violations.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 1, 1967 (59)
- Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Director, producer and writer, also editor
- 10 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
What are José Padilha's films like?
Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
Light 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 4
Grounded 2 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 0 · Intense 5
Steady 2 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 1
Casual 1 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 3
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet5
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch José Padilha's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (3).
Subscription and free streaming for José Padilha's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
19 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
It's a Match (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Narcos: Mexico(2018)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
The Mechanism(2018)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
7 Days in Entebbe(2018)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Curumim (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Narcos(2015)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Rio, I Love You(2014)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
RoboCop(2014)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Artificial Paradises(2012)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Secrets of the Tribe(2010)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Garapa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Elite Squad(2007)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Estamira Para Todos E Para Ninguém (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Cinemas de Rua de Curitiba (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Estamira (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Bus 174 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
The Charcoal People (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Dead or Alive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 19 titles, 18 of them dated from 2000 to 2019.
Biggest box office
RoboCop (2014)
Highest rated
Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010)
Most popular right now
RoboCop (2014)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do José Padilha's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 56th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 10 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the atmosphere 63/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is José Padilha's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does José Padilha work with?
People who share at least 2 of José Padilha's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Lula Carvalho shares the most, 6.
Writers
- Bráulio MantovaniShared titles: Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Bráulio Mantovani
- Rodrigo PimentelShared titles: Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Rodrigo Pimentel
Actors
- André RamiroShared titles: Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 2 shared titles with André Ramiro
- Maria RibeiroShared titles: Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Maria Ribeiro
- Milhem CortazShared titles: Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Milhem Cortaz
- Wagner MouraShared titles: Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Wagner Moura
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Lula CarvalhoShared titles: 7 Days in Entebbe (2018), RoboCop (2014), Artificial Paradises (2012), Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Secrets of the Tribe (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 6 shared titles with Lula Carvalho
- Daniel RezendeShared titles: 7 Days in Entebbe (2018), RoboCop (2014), Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 4 shared titles with Daniel Rezende
- Pedro BromfmanShared titles: RoboCop (2014), Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 3 shared titles with Pedro Bromfman
Producers
- James D'ArcyShared titles: Artificial Paradises (2012), Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Secrets of the Tribe (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 4 shared titles with James D'Arcy
- Marcos PradoShared titles: Artificial Paradises (2012), Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Secrets of the Tribe (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 4 shared titles with Marcos Prado
- Felipe PradoShared titles: Artificial Paradises (2012), Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 3 shared titles with Felipe Prado
- Joao PradoShared titles: Artificial Paradises (2012), Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010), Elite Squad (2007)See all 3 shared titles with Joao Prado
