--- title: "Bus 174: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/bus-174/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/bus-174" critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Bus 174 (2002): what the critics said Critics' score 71 from 12 reviews: 7 positive, 4 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics respond positively to Bus 174, praising its tense account of the hostage crisis and its compassionate investigation of Sandro do Nascimento’s past. The strongest agreement concerns the editing: the combination of television news footage and interviews builds suspense while explaining the social neglect behind the event. The reviews also value the attention paid to Rio’s street children and economic divisions, finding that this context gives Sandro’s circumstances weight without reducing the crisis to spectacle. The spread is wide, with reservations concerning clarity, accountability and the accumulation of painful detail. Variety finds the hijacking sometimes difficult to follow, despite admiring the film’s compassion. The Guardian faults its failure to challenge television executives or politicians directly. IndieWire offers the sharpest dissent, finding the documentary exhausting even while praising its editing; the same sustained attention that moves its admirers becomes, in this reading, excessive. ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2003. Tobias calls the documentary superb and moving, praising its empathetic investigation into Sandro do Nascimento’s past. He especially singles out the editing’s impeccable timing and rhythm. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/bus-174-1798198964) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 3.5/4. 12 October 2003. Gonzalez presents the documentary as a taut, compelling chronicle of a tragedy shaped by social neglect. He praises Padilha’s novelistic structure, which steadily builds tension while exposing the links between Sandro’s life and the hostage crisis. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/bus-174/) ## Empire — Will Lawrence Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic calls the documentary a powerful, depressing triumph that makes Sandro’s circumstances demand empathy. They praise how interviews and footage of the hijacking reveal the hardships faced by Rio’s street children. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/bus-174-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Ernesto Lechner Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2003. Lechner finds the documentary gripping and socially incisive, with suspense that outdoes many Hollywood thrillers. He particularly praises how Padilha’s editing and interviews reveal Sandro’s history and Rio’s systemic failures. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-oct-24-et-lechner24-story.html) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). The available description presents the documentary as engrossing despite its troubling subject. It singles out the use of television news footage and interviews to tell the story. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/bus-174-1) ## Variety — Deborah Young Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 31 October 2002. Festival review. Young finds the documentary tense and compassionate, while noting that its presentation of the hijacking is sometimes hard to follow. She praises the contrast between the event’s footage and the accounts of Sandro’s childhood and social abandonment. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/bus-174-2-1200545104/) ## Screen Daily — Alex Bellos Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2002. The page identifies this as a review, but the review text is behind a paywall. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be determined from the available text. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/bus-174-onibus-174/4011246.article) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 27 March 2003. Festival review. The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the accessible page. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/27/movies/film-festival-review-dissection-of-a-crime-leaves-brazil-exposed.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 30 April 2004. Bradshaw finds the documentary startling and shrewd, while faulting it for not directly challenging television executives or politicians. He praises its intercutting of original TV footage and interviews to reveal Sandro’s life and São Paulo’s social divisions. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,1206152,00.html) ## IndieWire — Nick Poppy Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 2003. The review finds the documentary grim and ultimately exhausting, despite its compelling account of a tragic crisis. It praises the expert editing of the extensive news footage, while faulting the film for lingering over too many painful details. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/blame-it-on-rio-jose-padilhas-bus-174-79406/) ## Eye for Film — David Haviland Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 March 2004. Haviland calls the documentary powerful, moving and a worthy addition to theatrical documentaries. He praises its memorable imagery and its effective build of tension toward the hijacking’s shocking resolution. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/bus-174-film-review-by-david-haviland) ## Paste — J. Robert Parks Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 November 2003. Parks finds the documentary emotionally compelling, praising its balanced account of the hostage crisis. He singles out how it places the event in Rio’s broader economic divide rather than treating it as mere spectacle. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/felipe-lacerda-jose-padilha/bus-174) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/bus-174.md