Ônibus 174 (2002)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Directors:

José Padilha
Felipe Lacerda (co-director)

Writer:

José Padilha (writer)

Release Date:

30 August 2003 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Documentary | Crime

Plot:

Documentary depicts what happened in Rio de Janeiro on June 12th 2000, when bus 174 was taken by an armed young man...

Plot Keywords:

Passenger | Bus | 2000s | Violence | Interview

Awards:

10 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Anonymous	...	Himself - Rio SWAT Team Officer
Maria Aparecida	...	Herself - Damiana's Daughter
Captain Batista	...	Himself - Rio SWAT Team Negotiator
Luanna Belmon	...	Herself - Undergraduate Student
Claudete Beltrana	...	Herself - Former Street Kid
Luciana Carvalho	...	Herself - Secretary
Coelho	...	Himself - Former Street Kid
Damiana	...	Herself
Yvonne Bezerra de Mello	...	Herself - Social Worker
Julieta do Nacimento	...	Herself - Sandro's Maternal Aunt
Sandro do Nascimento	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dona Elza	...	Herself
Geísa Firmo Gonçalves	...	Herself (archive footage)
José Henrique	...	Himself - TV Cameraman
Cláudia Macumbinha	...	Herself - Former Street Kid
Mendonça	...	Himself - Jail Keeper
Williams Moura	...	Himself - Undergraduate Student
Janaina Neves	...	Herself - Undergraduate Student
Rodrigo Pimentel	...	Himself - Former Rio SWAT Instructor
Rogerinho	...	Himself - Former Street Kid
Fábio Seixo	...	Himself - Newspaper Photographer
Luiz Eduardo Soares	...	Himself - Sociologist
Gil Velho	...	Himself - Capoeira Teacher
António Werneck	...	Himself - Newspaper Reporter

Also Known As:

Bus 174 (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violent images and some drug material.

Runtime:

150 min | Canada:120 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:122 min | Japan:119 min

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

New Zealand:R13 | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Japan:PG-12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Company:

Zazen Produções

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grbavica (2006)

Stunning and enthralling

There is little that can be said about this film that isn't obvious in the film itself. It is amazingly well-crafted (with the exception of the superfluous sociologist sequences) with the editors building their points up to the last ten minutes at the bus which are among the best done scenes I've ever scene on film. The fact that they were working with only existing footage is truly amazing, like building an opera from random tunes recorded on a street.

The Brazilian police are shown as incompetent and murderous. Once Sandro fired the gun in the bus, he was doomed. It was the mistakes of the police that got the girl killed also.

The vision of the Brazilian penal system certainly lends some weight to the portrayal of the street kids as in the grip of a monstrously distorting and abusive society.

Reinforces my desire to never visit Rio.