Common Sense Media Review
By Jose Solis
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Powerful Brazilian docu about media and gender violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Eloá the Hostage: Live on TV
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
ELOÁ THE HOSTAGE: LIVE ON TV revisits the 2008 kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Eloá Pimentel in Santo André, Brazil. For more than 100 hours, Eloá was held hostage in her apartment by her ex-boyfriend, Lindemberg Alves, while television networks broadcast the standoff live, turning it into a national media event. The documentary reconstructs the timeline of the crime using archival footage, news reports, and interviews with journalists, police officers, and Eloá's family. It examines how the case unfolded on air, the mistakes made by authorities and the press, and the lasting impact on survivors and Brazilian society.
Is It Any Good?
This important documentary is disturbing but worth watching. There's a moment early in the documentary that feels impossible to shake. In Eloá the Hostage: Live on TV, an actor reads from Eloá Pimentel's journals: "I love him like I thought I'd never love anyone in my life," she says about the man who'd eventually kidnap and murder her. Hearing those words, full of youth and tenderness, becomes devastating once we know what follows. The film treats Pimentel's writing with care, never turning it into spectacle, allowing her voice to reclaim the space that the media once stole. Watching how television crews turned a crime scene into a live show is infuriating. The cameras that should have stopped rolling kept feeding a country's appetite for drama and the audience is forced to sit with the consequences of that cruelty.
Director Cris Ghattas builds the film around testimony and memory. The archival footage serves as evidence rather than exploitation, and it's placed alongside interviews that reveal the quiet endurance of grief. Eloá's family speaks with a pain that feels immediate, while those who witnessed the event describe the shame of realizing how little anyone did to protect the young woman. Eloá the Hostage: Live on TV is an urgent reminder of the cost of indifference. It's a film for anyone who believes stories matter, a reminder that how we tell them can either restore dignity or erase it all over again.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way the media covered Eloá's story. Do you think it affected what happened and how people remember it today?
What do you think the film wants us to understand about how society treats violence against women?
Why do you think it's important to listen to the voices of survivors, families, and women journalists when telling stories like this one?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 12, 2025
- Inclusion Information : Asian Movie Writer(s) , Latino Movie Writer(s) , South American Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Documentary
- Topics : Activism ( Civic engagement , Gender equality , Racial justice ) , Family Stories
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Courage
- Run time : 89 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : November 12, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate