Review of Bus 174 (2002) by Adrian W — 24 May 2008

Bus 174 is about a lot more things than you might think. On the surface, it is a documentary on a 2000 incident in Rio De Janeiro in which Sandro Rosa do Nascimento, a homeless man, boarded a public bus (the titular bus 174) in order to rob the passengers but bungled it up, creating a hostage situation. However, it goes much further beyond that, the film raising several questions: Why was do Nascimento doing this? What was the role of the police? Was this an isolated incident or part of a larger problem?

Those who go on just expecting a play-by-play of the hostage crisis - Like I was - will be stunned by the emotional impact of Bus 174. Do Nascimento himself is painted unashamedly as a tragic character, a victim of unfortunate circumstance and random tragedy - The film asks that, before you condemn him, you consider his past: His mother murdered in front of him, a life on the streets, the only friends he's ever known massacred in the closest thing he ever had to a home ( he survived the Candelaria Massacre). He never had a chance in hell at a normal life, scorned by society before he had a chance to defend himself. His criminal nature is not an issue of black and white: He genuinely doesn't seem to have a choice.

Also examined are the police on the scene: They are untrained, underappreciating their status in the public eye and completely underestimating of the gravity of the situation. But Bus 174 is a neutral film, so they are never painted in an unflattering light: After all, it's hardly their fault that they were forced into the only job they could find and not given any training.

Bus 174 is a rare breed of documentary: It isn't a report so much as a statement. There are no presenters, no narration and no bias. We are simply given as many facts as the makers could find and aksed to draw our own conclusions. Some will say that do Nascimento represents a massive problem not just in Brazil but also world-wide that needs to be addressed, and that's fine. Some will say that do Nascimento is nothing more than a criminal lucky enough to get national attention, and that's probably fine, too. There's no definitive answer to the ultimate question that Bus 174 asks: Whose fault is it when events like this occur?

There may never be an answer, but the question itself is possibly the most important of all and needs to be asked.