Documentary vs. Biopic: Bus 174 Edition

One of my favorite documentaries from the last decade was "Bus 174 (2002)":

"On June 12th, 2000, a bus full of passengers was kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro in broad daylight. The kidnapper, Sandro do Nascimento, terrorized his victims and when he finally agreed to surrender and the episode was close to an end, a policeman tried to shoot him, killing one of the hostages instead, a young woman. The whole episode was broadcast live, causing revolt among the population. The documentary is about the incident, with interviews, focusing on Sandro do Nascimento, his childhood, and how unavoidably he was doomed to become a bandit."

So when I realized a feature film had been made about the same story, and that it was written by Braulio Mantovani, the man who wrote another favorite of mine, "City of God (2002)", I knew I absolutely had to watch "Last Stop 174 (2008)".

This is definitely one case in which the documentary and film complemented one another, while both being great movies on their own. I would recommend "Last Stop 174" even if you haven't seen the documentary, because Sandro's story is both fascinating and tragic.



You can watch the documentary "Bus 174" here.

Underrated 80s Flick: Vice Squad

"Vice Squad (1982)" is probably my favorite 80s crime movie. I remember being scared as hell of the killer, Ramrod. In fact this movie is so scary and violent that it's also considered to be a horror movie (it was even featured in "Terror in the Aisles (1984)").


"A Los Angeles businesswoman, known only by her street name of Princess, turns to prostitution to support herself and her young daughter when she's forced by Detective Tom Walsh and his vice squad to help them arrest a brutal pimp named Ramrod for the murder of a prostitute named Ginger. But when Ramrod learns that he was set up, he escapes from police custody and begins a long night of tracking down Princess while Walsh and his vice squad are always one step behind him."

Princess Aurora

The South Korean movie "Princess Aurora (2005)" seems very similar to "Lady Vengeance" in many ways, but other than certain plot points it is actually very different. The folks over at DVDtalk.com do a great job of comparing the two films:

"This film has been getting a lot of comparisons to Chan Wook-Park's excellent Sympathy For Lady Vengeance and while both movies definitely play around with some of the same themes and ideas (and in that regard, the comparisons are definitely warranted), the execution of both films is quite different. Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is highly stylized and at times borders on surrealist and it also keeps you guessing as to who was responsible for the crimes whereas Princess Aurora isn't nearly as flashy and it lays out its story in a much more matter-of-fact manner. As such, it's easier to follow and while it is more simplistic it is still very much a unique movie that stands on its own very well."



(I can't yet find a trailer with English subtitles. This movie is unfortunately hard to find...)

See Also: Lady Vengeance

11:14

"11:14 (2003)" is one of those movies that tells the story of one night from multiple perspectives. Normally this plot device can be difficult to pull off, but this film does it beautifully. Add to that an amazing ensemble cast (Patrick Swayze, Henry Thomas, Barbara Hershey, Hilary Swank, Colin Hanks, Shawn Hatosy, Rachel Leigh Cook, Ben Foster, and more) and you have a must see crime/drama/comedy.

Who is Jenny Lumet?

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting interview with Jenny Lumet, writer of "Rachel Getting Married (2008)" and daughter of director Sidney Lumet.



I've known of her for a while, because she starred in a great crime movie called "Q&A (1990)" that I don't think anyone has ever seen or heard of except me, despite a pretty heavyweight cast.

Q & A (Theatrical Trailer)
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