The number 174 bus may well forever be remembered as the most famous hijack in Brasil. National television gave it hours of live coverage, Rio de Janeiro police desperately tried to free hostages and the ordeal was imprinted on the national psyche. This dramatic retelling starts with Alessandro, rudely ripped from his mother’s breast (quite literally). The gangsters that grab him violently are owed money by his coke-sniffing mama. Young Alessandro (Sandro for short) is soon old enough to wield a gun. His life intertwines with another boy called Sandro as they grow up on the streets, doing coke and doing time. They survive by armed robbery and dealing drugs. A close shave with an infamous street massacre, just off Presidente Vargas, sees several children gunned down. Between the bloodbath of juveniles and the bus hijack, weave tales of maternal longing, desperate glue-sniffing, jailbreak and prostitution. Meanwhile, Church and NGOs fight to save souls among such unworthy miscreants.
Director:
Bruno Barreto
Year:
2008
Country:
Bra
Cast:
Michel Gomes, Chris Vianna, Marcello Melo Junior
Classification:
16
Certification:
VLS