prettyh This documentary stood out for me from others of its ilk, because it focuses not just on what happened on a bus one summer day in Brazil, but also reaches into the socioeconomic situation at the time and gives us a real glimpse of why a young man would be driven to take people hostage, and how he felt he had no other options outside of a life of crime.Watching "Bus 174" is like observing a criminal event through a prism. There are countless sides to every element of it. The beauty of Rio de Janeiro is juxtaposed on screen with the horrors as we're taken through the escalation of a hostage situation, all graphically captured by Brazilian TV camera crews. We can see how wide the gulf is between the rich and the poor, even though the lives of each are lived only miles apart in the same city. We are told how inadequately the police force has been trained and equipped to deal with the crime in the city, let alone such a volatile situation. And we're shown how a single bus stopped on a busy thru-way brings an entire city to a screeching halt. With the rich context given to us by the filmmakers, we find ourselves sympathizing with the gunman (Sandro do Nascimento) *and* his hostages. And while we now know how badly it will end, we can't help but hope that somehow Sadro's surrender will be accepted, that he and all of the hostages will make it out unscathed, that history can be rewritten. Tragically, it cannot, and we are shown the moments when lives are lost. We're also left to contemplate how many ways this could have ended differently, and how little it may have taken to do so.Interviews with everyone, from survivors to police personnel to reporters on the scene, as well as people who knew Sandro during his horrific childhood, are very effective in making us feel as though we too were there during that harrowing 4-hour long encounter. Learning about the gunman's tragic history - what he had to survive to reach even the young age he had when this incident ended his life - and how, in the aftermath, police scrambled to re-frame the incident in their favour, add to the viewer's internal conflict. We're not accustomed to experiencing such empathy for both hostage-taker and victim. That is a major strength of this film: we're allowed to see it from all sides, which makes it that much more heartbreaking in the end.This is not for the faint of heart. We're not spared much. But "Bus 174" is a documentary after which others should strive to model themselves. It is truly a must-see, as it comes as close as anything possibly can to answering what we always ask after a tragedy: "Why?"

bubsy-3 Bus 174 is one of the best Documentaries I have ever seen. It is also one of the best "thrillers" I have ever seen.It is the true story of young man who holds those on a bus hostage. Because the television media were at the scene, a major part of the movie is televised live footage of the hijacker and his hostages on the bus. It is riveting to watch. However, in addition, comments from those who knew the hijacker as a child and teenager are included, as well as comments from the police and hostage negotiating team. Also included is footage of the hijacker and his "associates" interviewed earlier in his life.Bus 174 has us asking several questions about the resources available to the poor in Brazil, about the training (or lack of training might be more accurate) of the police and hostage negotiators, about the lack of communication between those involved.But most importantly, this movie is about "S", a real person who we gain a real understanding about. The movie dwells a bit too long on "written history" and while the bus footage is riveting, it may go on too long in the second hour.Since so many television crews were shooting footage, I tend to think that more graphic footage may exist of some of the scenes that those who made the film chose not to use. But this movie was an edge of seat thriller. A chilling documentary of a real life event. I kept wondering how I would have reacted if I were on that bus. And I kept seeing "S" as those on the bus did, a scared young man who only truly wanted to get out alive and not kill anyone. It's ashamed that the police didn't see him that way.

jj112399 I watched this on IFC last night, I came in towards the middle, this film was so compelling, my heart was racing, I was glued! The high level of anticipation is unreal in any film I've ever watched. I am continually stunned at how people are living in other countries and what they go through, these people were just on their way to work and school and were fighting and pleading for their lives in the end. I kept asking myself, "could this happen in the US' and would our police have allowed it to have gone on so long. I pray that a sharpshooter here would have taken him out. I highly recommend this film, I can't call it a movie, it's a wrenching look at an evil moment in human history.

weberpr Bus 174 is a documentary based on the hold up of a bus by a young man named Yvonne Bezerra De Mello in Rio De Janeiro in the year 2000.This is a shocking but truthful story of a young man with a troubled life. Bus 174 was a very well shot and organised documentary, although violent and crude, very well done. It was a very real feeling while watching it.Real footage was used for the majority of the documentary other parts are fictionalPros Realistic, Well filmed.Cons none