My wife wanted to go to the Spectrum Theater and see the new movie, The Lost Bus. Unfortunately, when I looked at the schedule on what I believe was the first Friday after it had opened, it was no longer available there, which disappointed my wife.
I wondered if it’s on one of those streaming services we happen to have, which I can access on the Roku that will facilitate that. Sure enough, there it was on Apple+. My wife made popcorn.
The film is based on a true story about the 2018 California fires. Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaugh) is a guy just hanging on. His father died recently, and he is taking care of his mother and has joint custody of his angry teenage son. He has a job as a school bus driver, but he’s not good with the regulations, such as bringing the bus in for inspection.
Meanwhile, a moderate-sized fire is miles away, but because of the terrain, it cannot be contained. As the fire spreads, schools need to be evacuated. Kevin has an empty bus, so he goes to an elementary school and picks up Mary (America Ferrera) and her nearly two dozen students.
McKay’s son Shaun was played by McConaugh’s real-life son, Levi. Matthew said on a TV show that because his father-son relationship with Levi was so solid, he encouraged his son to play the role as caustically as possible.
Burning
Harrowing fire stuff happens, which probably would have been more intense on the big screen. But it was nerve-wracking enough, especially at the highlight of the film. Indeed, the exposition setup was necessary, but the disaster creates the tension. What was as interesting as the attempted escape from the fire was the firefighters’ scenes as they slowly realize this is an inferno like they had never seen.
The film was directed and co-written by Paul Greengrass, who’s known for how well he presents films based on real events (United 93, Bloody Sunday).
Scores on Rotten Tomatoes were 87% postive with critics and 94% with fans. One critic noted, “This is a spectacle-type movie but didn’t feel like a spectacle.” Another critic complained about “the refusal to acknowledge the climate changes making bushfires ever more savage.” As I complain a lot, that wasn’t the film Greengrass was making; he was addressing the surprise/shock and ultimate lack of preparation in 2018.
There’s Red Cross page featuring McConaugh and Ferrera urging people to be prepared for wildfires.
Every time there is a fire movie or news film reporting on fire evacuations, I am reminded of a tip from late newspaper publisher Robert Maynard.
In a lush, populated area, wildfire swept the hills where he resided with his family in the early 1990s…
Like the film, firefighters were not prepared …same state different area…small grassfire on a Sunday morning improperly doused and unexpected wind…
Firefighters ran door to door telling residents to evacuate ASAP….because they had only minutes.
Maynard wrote he had several minutes to grab valuables and get out.
But was at a loss as to what to take in such a short, unexpected time …
Then he remembered what burglars do…
He began throwing important papers and family treasures in the middle of his bed and when he had it filled, grabbed each corner of the bedspread and had a bundle to sling over his back… and he fled…)
(3,000 homes were destroyed…but the fire stopped feet from his home.)