On the morning of June 12, 2000, passengers travelling on Bus 174 through Jardim Botânico, one of Rio de Janeiro's wealthy districts, were taken hostage by a young man who was obviously high on something. A five-hour police standoff ensued, and was televised throughout Brazil, the media adding tension to a terrible situation that eventually ended in tragedy.
José Padilha's 2003 documentary Bus 174 detailed the events that led to this calamity, and touched many viewers, especially those in Brazil. Now, acclaimed veteran filmmaker Bruno Barreto gives us the human story behind this violent attack, and offers a glimpse of the obstacles faced by many poor Brazilians. Tender and humane, Last Stop 174 tells the story of a mother looking for her son, who is in turn looking for her – both orphans in a society that has abandoned them.
When Marisa (Cris Vianna) is unable to pay a debt, her baby, Alessandro, is taken away from her by a drug dealer. After cleaning up her act, she becomes obsessed with finding her child. On the outskirts of Rio, another boy, Sandro, finds his mother dead in her shop, stabbed by robbers. He runs away, intent on reaching Copacabana, where his mother once promised to take him.
Sandro befriends some street kids and begins a lifestyle that will sweep him into drug use and dealing. After becoming a hardened survivor of the Candelária massacre (an attempt by Rio police to “clean up” the city by murdering street kids as they slept), he eventually finds himself in a juvenile detention home. There he meets Marisa's long-lost boy, Alessandro. Marisa meanwhile finds her way to the centre, and mistakes Sandro for her own son. Despite her efforts to help him, Sandro cannot escape his hard reality, and ultimately becomes the hostage-taker on Bus 174.
Barreto's superb storytelling and craftsmanship help us to understand this tragic character. Sandro is loving and talented, and has a good heart, but the harshness of Rio's streets overwhelms him. He is just another one of those lost souls sacrificed daily, forsaken by society.
Diana Sanchez
Bruno Barreto was born in , and is one of Brazil's most renowned filmmakers. His feature films are Tati, A Garota (73), A Estrela Sobe (74), Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (76), Beloved Lover (79), The Kiss (81), Gabriela, Cravo e Canela (83), Beyond Passion (85), The Story of Fausta (87), A Show of Force (90), Carried Away (96), Four Days in September (97), One Tough Cop (98), Bossa Nova (00), View from the Top (03), Romeo and Juliet Get Married (05), Money on the Side (07) and Last Stop 174 (08).