On paper, this movie should work. Acts of heroism in dire circumstances make for good watching, but Greengrass fails to deliver on the film’s promise of tension and thrills. Meanwhile, there’s a whole crew of first responders actually fighting the fire who we almost never get to see in the movie. The story of how PG&E didn’t maintain their power lines very well, and how they weren’t able to shut the power off immediately when the firefighters asked, never gets told, and no PG&E employees of any meaningful variety appear at all.
In 2019 the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection determined that PG&E was responsible for Camp Fire. A year later, the utility company pled guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one felony count of unlawfully starting a fire, were fined $3.5 million, and agreed to a $25.5 billion settlement to compensate victims and their families. However The Lost Bus skips the investigation, fails to villainize anyone and, despite being an overt climate change movie, only briefly pays lip service to it.
Link: https://exclaim.ca/film/article/the-lost-bus-film-review
‘The Lost Bus’ Can’t Find Its Way Through the Flames | Exclaim!
