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The Age of Commercialism

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I will not add to the numerous positives reviews of the film. Really, I do not understand the negative critiques who expected something like "an action movie" of the kidnap of the bus. I was fortunate to see the film on TV and lost the first 5 minutes or so. I think the movie would have been better without this first 5 minutes which tells you important facts in Sandro (the kidnapper) life which are essential to the drama that unfold after that. And the same details are developed during the film. I prefer this "developing approach" that by luck I had the opportunity to see, just for missing the first minutes. Anyway, to add what have already said in other commentaries, I would stress another think. How Sandro did not want to kill anybody. He is a complex character, trying to be tough with his negotiators but reluctant to pull the trigger, you can understand it on all his vacilations. As far as I remember (I was living in Brazil at those time, the kidnapping was an unintended consequence of a failed robbery to the passenger in the bus. Is like Sandro got in an spiral of situation that he couldn't manage. And all of his ferocious negotiation had an only objective. He did not want to come back to jail, a nightmare in Brazil and in most Latin American country (more than the nigthmare that is in EVERY country). I suggest to anyone who want to make the experiment, to see the film skipping the first 6 or so minutes... you will have a complete different experience of the film (sharing feelings of the crowd surrounding the bus, and then softening your position if you are compassionate enough).

Bus 174 tells the true story of the day in 2000 that the attempted robbery of a bus in Rio led to a tragic hostage crisis. Drawing heavily on newsreel footage and interviews with those involved, this film gives a comprehensive, gripping view of a situation that is all too common in certain parts of the world.The film begins as negotiators arrive at the scene, and continues until the final, tragic conclusion. Interviews with police, hostages, and reporters fill in every detail of the affair. We share the fear of the hostages, trapped with an armed, desperate, and highly erratic suspect who feels he has nothing to lose. We feel their frustration as police miss opportunities to resolve the crisis. And we see the public spectacle the crisis becomes as the scene is surrounded by throngs of curious civilians and the airwaves of Brazil become host to the hijacker's tirades.Coverage of the hostage crisis is inter-cut with background information on the hostage taker, Sandro. We learn how witnessing the brutal murder of his mother as a child led to a life on the streets. He fell in with youth gangs, became addicted to cocaine and inhalants, and turned to violent crime to support his addiction. He served time in jails where inmates were routinely beaten. And while still a child, he survived the Candelaria massacre, in which seven children were gunned down- most likely by off duty cops. None of this excuses the actions he took that day, but it's too easy to understand how he ended up like he did.And even sadder is that there are thousands more like him in the cities of Brazil. I know that we haven't eliminated homelessness here in America, but gangs of vagrant children are not a common sight here. Is there no place for orphan and runaways to go in Brazil, no-one to take care of them? And in the prisons, why are there no classes to teach them how to read and write and to give them job skills? And then there are the beatings, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions. Where I come from this would elicit outrage.And the police don't get a free pass here either. The members of the SWAT team showed courage in the face of an armed suspect, but none had the courage to countermand bad orders from distant civilian authorities. The crisis was prolonged, and a young woman died, largely because they had been ordered to take the suspect alive. And after they had him in custody, they suffocated him to death in the back of their van. Why? This story is heartbreaking, all the more so for being true. But it is an excellent film, keeping the viewers attention and careful to cover the story from all angles. It delves not only covers the crisis, but delves into the nature of crime, and major issues that face all societies to some degree. Highly recommended.

"Bus 174" has since become the first part of the Jose Padilha trilogy examining Brasils' correlation between city homeless kids (in our documentary) police response (Elite Squad) and political correction (Elite Squad; The Enemy Within). The later two are full length action films that are engrossing as well as important in their focus, but have their separate reviews on IMDb. Bus 174 and Sandros' background revealed ties the massacre at Candelaria and his mothers' murder. We see beautiful sweeping overheads of Rio but then film of incredibly oppressive prison conditions. This is all in the context of a public hijacking caught on national TV while the ill equipped police scramble with poor communication and little plan. The only hope in with the hostages themselves to talk the desperate hijacker into a peaceful resolution. This is gripping and honest and long. Our social workers tell a familiar story but the professors waxing liberal policy don't offer solutions. Actually, it was in Elite Squad II that the politician educator gives a passionate and intelligent reaction to what must be done. You have to start somewhere and exposing what happened seems to be a good place to commence. While every country has its' Rio favellas and Sandros (victim/hoodlum) there is a clear correlation between the results of poverty and the crimes here that merit this film.

I never claimed to be any movie reviewer, I just like to come and comment after I watch a film and if someone reads it, they read it. All I try to do I suppose is convey something of what that movie made me feel. I have to say that this movie is probably one of the most difficult ones I have ever tried to comment on. It is hard to know where to begin. Obviously, the plot is simple (I know it is a real documentary! Don't misunderstand me using the word plot), there is a young guy on a bus with some innocent people and he is holding them at gunpoint. they are his hostages and he quickly lets it be known that he is in control here. Everyone's fate is in his hands.That lays out a taste of what you are in for when you sit down to this, right at the beginning you are sucked in and are listening to his words, wondering why and what makes a man come to a situation like that.The great thing about this film is that the creators didn't miss this. they spend a lot of time showing us why. Trying to uncover the multitude of reasons why a man would find himself in a situation like this. it makes for a fascinating yet harrowing story.What starts off as a mad shooting incident then becomes a different kind of film. a study, a documentary in the proper sense. a documentary of some poor guys non life. Before I get accused of sympathising with the guy as if he was innocent, don't think that. It is just interesting to learn, like when you watch this, that there is always a few more layers to a story than you might ever think!I cannot recommend this film enough and gave it 9 stars!This is about humanity and emotions and cruelty and greed.It is about us all.Watch it!