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ScreenDaily - Bruno Barreto’s dramatization of the June 2000 bus highjacking in Rio de Janeiro, which was the subject of Jose Padilha’s probing 2002 documentary Bus 174, rises above standard docu-drama fare. The melodrama about a street thug lost to family and society rounds out familiar contours with solid acting, mostly from young non-professionals.
Brazilian urban violence won’t be new to any audience familiar with the City of God or Elite Squad (Jose Padilha’s feature debut about street crime from the police perspective). Yet Last Stop 174 brings no recognizable stars to its cast, only Barreto’s directorial reputation in his 18th feature. The absence of much of a score (although Marcelo Zavos is credited) may be an effort to avoid clichés of Brazilian “exoticism”, but it’s a drawback to promoting the picture internationally.
A lean unsentimental script by Braulio Mantovani (who wrote City of God) and tactile camera-work by DP Antoine Heberle make interwoven stories easy to follow in pictures alone – subtitles are barely needed. Attractive young actors should also help the film with the youth market. Home video could be strong with the growing public that is responding to Brazilian cinema… [Full Story]
