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.
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.