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      Bus 174

      R Released Oct 8, 2003 2h 13m Documentary List
      96% Tomatometer 79 Reviews 90% Audience Score 5,000+ Ratings A young Brazilian hijacks a bus in Rio de Janeiro to rob its passengers. When he holds the entire bus hostage, the press broadcasts it live. This documentary chronicles the incompetent response by police officers to the public event inspired nationwide protest. Included are details about the captor's harsh childhood after witnessing his mother's murder. His homelessness provides but one example of the tragic social and political indifference for urban poverty in modern Brazil. Read More Read Less
      Bus 174

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      Critics Consensus

      Bus 174 uses real-life tragedy as the grist for a gripping -- and terribly thought-provoking -- look at societal tensions and police violence.

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      Critics Reviews

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      Amy Taubin Film Comment Magazine Building an indictment of the media, the police, and the provincial governor for placing self-interest above saving lives, Bus 174 opens out from the people directly involved in the incident to an examination of institutionalized poverty. Apr 10, 2018 Full Review Deborah Young Variety A tense documentary with multiple layers of meaning. Jun 10, 2008 Full Review Patrick Z. McGavin Chicago Reader Padilha allows neither easy answers nor ironic commentary, producing on both sides of the conflict a world of inconsolable grief. May 8, 2007 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Bus 174 is too long because the filmmakers are too timid about making a frontal attack on Brazilian society. Detail becomes a substitute for an open indictment. Feb 16, 2021 Full Review Joe Lozito Big Picture Big Sound Relentlessly gripping. Rated: 4/4 Dec 27, 2007 Full Review Ethan Alter NYC Film Critic Rated: 4/5 Mar 5, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      William L Bus 174 is a comprehensive review of a hostage scenario in review, taking what could have easily been dismissed as a bit of sensationalized journalism catering to tragedy-driven news cycles and fleshing it out into a full social portrait of Brazil. By broadcasting the event live, Brazilians themselves were able to see one facet of the story - the base incompetence of their police forces, which was common knowledge but entirely different when packaged and delivered to everyone watching TV simultaneously. José Padilha and Felipe Lacerda take that narrative, a wake-up moment for the Brazilian public, and expand it into a full discourse on the circumstances that made it possible, particularly the high crime rates and lack of social support that results in large numbers of homeless children that grow up on the streets with few opportunities apart from criminal activity. Tack on poorly funded police training and support, a rash of drug addictions, and futile volunteer efforts in the opposite direction, and you have a microcosm of the environment that destroys lives in the background, only now it is broadcast nationally. Well-constructed, researched in-depth, and making compelling use of the actual footage taken of the event itself to create a real sense of emotional investment, and you've got a solid documentary. Two decades down the line, has anything really changed in Brazil? It seems that all these problems are still present, and only growing. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/22 Full Review Audience Member one of my fav docs, tremendous investigative and cinematic work Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review renaldo d The best film by josé padilha Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Chronicling the hostage situation on the titular bus in 2000, this documentary emerges as an profoundly unsettling exposé on the pitiable street kids abandoned and abused by society. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member It's hard to explain how good this is. Probably watch it on your own with no distractions Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member A very deep and profound look into the social issues plaguing brazilian society and culture. This is a documentary, and covers the reckless mistreatment of the poor, and the prisoners in brazil. It culminates into a hostage crisis that sees no happy ending. A++ Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Bus 174

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis A young Brazilian hijacks a bus in Rio de Janeiro to rob its passengers. When he holds the entire bus hostage, the press broadcasts it live. This documentary chronicles the incompetent response by police officers to the public event inspired nationwide protest. Included are details about the captor's harsh childhood after witnessing his mother's murder. His homelessness provides but one example of the tragic social and political indifference for urban poverty in modern Brazil.
      Director
      José Padilha
      Screenwriter
      Bráulio Mantovani, José Padilha
      Distributor
      ThinkFilm
      Production Co
      Zazen Producoes
      Rating
      R (Language|Violent Images|Some Drug Material)
      Genre
      Documentary
      Original Language
      Portuguese (Brazil)
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Oct 8, 2003, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jul 20, 2004
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $216.2K
      Runtime
      2h 13m
      Sound Mix
      Surround