It is based on the book Estação Carandiru by Dr. Drauzio Varella, a physician and AIDS specialist, who is portrayed in the film by Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos.

Babenco stated that Carandiru is the "most realistic film [he has] ever made",[2] presenting a new kind of Brazilian realism inspired by Cinema Novo (not only is it meant to portray different sides of Brazil, but it was also shot on location and used many actual prisoners as actors).

[3] Due to this focus on portraying reality and the film's memoir inspiration, Carandiru can be read as a docudrama or as a testimony from the prisoners.

Thus, when the film ends with real shots of Carandiru Penitentiary's demolition, Babenco employs catharsis.

[2] At one point during the film, Ebony sarcastically asks Dr. Varella if he's noticed that all the inmates of Carandiru are innocent.

Director Héctor Babenco shot the film on location in the actual penitentiary, and in neo-realist fashion he used a huge cast of novice actors — some of whom are former inmates.

It was the highest-grossing Brazilian film of the year and third overall (behind Bruce Almighty and The Matrix Reloaded),[7] attracting over 4.6 million spectators.

"[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Shot on location inside a notorious prison in São Paulo, it shows 8,000 men jammed into space meant for 2,000 and enforcing their own laws in a place their society has abandoned.

"[12] Stephen Holden, film critic for The New York Times, liked the film and its social message, and wrote, "Despite its confusion and the broadness of many of its strokes, the movie belongs to a Latin American tradition of heartfelt social realism in which the struggles of ordinary people assume a heroic dimension.

"[13] Critic Jamie Russell wrote, "Making his point without resorting to liberal hand-wringing, Babenco charts the climactic violence with steely detachment.