The Lost Bus (2025)

Let's begin with the negatives about The Lost Bus. It is an absolute travesty that it hasn't got a wide cinematic release. It's a sorry indication of where we've got to now where streaming giants like Netflix or in this case Apple TV+ are so rich that they can throw money at films to gain full rights, and also invariably means that they want people to watch these films at home rather than in the cinemas- at a time where many are already too lazy to get off the sofas or jerk their heads upwards away from their phones.

Paul Greengrass's latest film, The Lost Bus, has been backed by Apple TV+ in the same way that his last couple of films- News of the World (2020) and 22 July (2018) were financed by Netflix.

Now, obviously I'd rather be in a world where I got to see the work of Greengrass rather than not see it at all. But he's such an extraordinary film maker that- despite the fact it's great he's getting such financing and creative freedom- his work simply has to be seen on the big screen.

The Lost Bus did receive a cinematic release, a pathetic one, less than a month before it hit Apple TV+, and I was nowhere near a cinema showing it. So, I was forced into giving Apple TV+ exactly what they wanted.

Fortunately for everyone involved, Greengrass- yet again- gave me exactly what I wanted. The Lost Bus tells the astonishing true story of a lone school bus driver, Matthew McConaughey's Kevin McKay who piloted a busload of school children and their teacher through hell during California's terrifying 2018 Camp fire, a blaze that became the deadliest wildfire in California's history. Greengrass co-wrote the script with Brad Ingelsby, and they take their inspiration from Lizzie Johnson's 2021 book Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire.

There's no-one in British cinema who can take a true life horror story and put it to screen like Greengrass. Hell, that claim might well be true of world cinema too. It's extremely apt that The Lost Bus hit our (television) screens on the cusp of the news that 'Soldier F' - the former British paratrooper accused of murdering James Wray and William McKinney and attempting to murder five others during the horrific Bloody Sunday attacks in Derry in 1972- has been acquitted. Greengrass depicted the events in his astonishing 2002 film Bloody Sunday, and the British government could learn a thing or two from watching the film, although the damage is already done. Anyway, I digress.

McConaughey's Kevin, a man whose life has fallen apart after since his return to Paradise after some years away, lives with his mom and son (played by McConaughey's real life mother and son) both of whom he struggles to provide for. He leaves for work on the day of the fire having had a blazing row with his son, a tiny taster of the horrors about to engulf him for the next twenty four hours.

The film flits between firefighters who initially try to fight the breakout of the fire before realising this is something far worse than a simple bush fire, and towards the end of the film resort to simply attempting to save lives rather than fight the elements; Kevin, who as a result of the town being evacuated must transport a bus load of kids and their teacher (an excellent America Ferrera) out of danger; and the bus depot where Kevin's boss Ruby is on the verge of firing Kevin before circumstances reveal the fact that he's the only hope of getting these kids out alive. People have made their own assumptions that Greengrass's film is a statement about climate change, but Greengrass himself has refuted this- he's here to tell the remarkable story of the school bus. There's one scene toward the end where the fire chief fronts up to reporters and announces that things have got to change, and that the wildfires are becoming more frequent, but that's as close we get to any climate message; and as the credits role, they mention the company eventually found culpable for the horrific events. But there's no need for Greengrass to give any message beyond the script he provides us- we can see for ourselves. Greengrass instead focuses on doing what he does best, and the results are extraordinary. At times the stifling atmosphere of the interior of the bus feel eerily reminiscent of the desperate feeling inside the cabin of United 93 (2006), Greengrass's jaw dropping portrayal of the passenger's fightback against the 9/11 hijackers. To say that The Lost Bus is dynamically shot almost does a disservice to Greengrass; he captures the horror of the fire in harrowing yet spectacular style, ensuring that you're gripping your seat for two hours- especially in a final sequence where the bus makes a final bid for freedom that is almost unbearable. In the end, where The Lost Bus ranks amongst Greengrass's filmography remains up for debate. The man hasn't made a bad film, and remains one of the world's best directors; especially in recreating real life tales, bringing them to life and making us feel every second of them. The Lost Bus might be the most Paul Greengrass film Paul Greengrass has ever made, which when you consider his back catalogue, can't be anything but a major compliment. My only request to him is that he find a way of getting his films back on the big screens in far more widespread fashion, provided of course that he continues to keep up this incredulous run of truly excellent films. 8.3/10