Bus 174 Reviews

The directorial debut of Jose Padilha the 2002 documentary Bus 174 examines the hijacking of a Brazilian transit bus, paying particular attention to cause and effect relationship of Brazilian society.

It does this through a thorough examination of the life and actions of the hijacker, Sandro, in an attempt to give reason to an unreasonable action.

The strongest part of this story is that of the hijacking itself. Told through archival footage, security tapes and numerous interviews with police, hostages and family the saga of the bus itself is gripping and emotional. When properly integrated into the story of Bus 174 the larger tale of a country that abandons and mistreats its impovershed citizens is truly impactful. For instance, when Sandro yells out his window about the massacre of Candelaria the film uses that cue to explore that tragedy. This is an effective way to flesh out Sandro's origins and, perhaps, give the viewer some insight into his twisted actions.

However, there are also numerous moments where Padilha takes the viewer out of the story of Sandro and bus 174 and plops us in front of sociological talking heads that bemoan Brazil's mistreatment of its underclass and plea for the recognition of the invisible children. This, decidedly, doesn't work. Forcing this information down the viewer's throat out of the context of the tragedy of bus 174 is the film's biggest weakness. The biographical sketches of Sandro that are directly tied into the narrative of the bus hijacking gave me more than enough insight into the cultural considerations that led Sandro down the criminal path. Hammering on those considerations repeatedly, especially near the beginning of the story when Sandro hasn't been properly fleshed out, made the film feel manipulative, obvious and left a bad taste in my mouth right from the outset. Subtlety is key, and when Padilha is subtle it works perfectly.

There are times when the story seems a bit biased to the plight of the hijacker and the interviews with the favela kids - probably intended to flesh out Sandro's background - seem a bit staged and strangely translated (a 16 year old from the slums of Rio de Janeiro says "ruckus?") but, for the most part, Bus 174 is an effective and fascinating tale of a divided country. As the film closes and we hear the citizens of Brazil - the mother, the hostage, the policeman, the gangster, the social worker - mull over the events of that fateful day the film's intended portrait of Brazil becomes crystal clear (and without a 55 year old sociologist telling me what to feel!). It is a country with a wide division between the general populace and those that many feel should simply disappear and, when one of the latter acts out in such a shockingly public fashion no one really knows what to do. It becomes a tragedy for many.