Review of Bus 174 (2002) by Anonymous User — 06 Sep 2009

A documentary that shares the same subject as City Of God, though this movie tackles it in a much simpler, arguably more riveting, definitely more insightful way. It's a extremely thorough dissection/character study of a hostage situation in Rio that features stunning footage of the entire ordeal, in-depth interviews with (the robber) Sandro's relatives, friends, hostages, sociologists, police, social workers, prison guards, and just about anyone who has had contact with him that's worth mentioning.

Besides a revealing look at Sandro though, eventually the film delves into more broad topics like the the social neglect for underprivileged youth and the "between a rock and a hard place", lose-lose scenarios they have to face on a daily basis. These kids feel invisible, useless, insignificant, like garbage. As a result, a naturally good-natured guy like Sandro hungers for some kind of escape from the slums he's destined never to escape from, and this pursuit for the slightest bit of attention manifests itself into a dramatic hostage situation.

I don't really want to spoil it, but eventually, you can see where he's coming from, and even feel sympathy for the guy. It also goes into amazing detail on the Dog Day Afternoon-type media circus, incompetence of the police, what was going in the hostages' heads, among others. The last 20 minutes or so is as gripping as any movie gets. One of the 10 best movies of the decade, maybe even 5.