You may be aware of the devastating wildfires that have swept through North America and Canada, within increasing potency, over the past decade. You may, however, be less aware of the deeper details of destruction but Paul Greengrass’ new film, The Lost Bus, offers an equally awe-inspiring and terrifying insight into that reality, as this is inspired by real events.

Back in 2018, ‘Camp Fire’ – in Northern California – was the most damaging in modern history, burning through 153,336 acres. That’s difficult to comprehend, but consider New York’s Manhattan destroyed 10x over, to give you some idea. Not only did it obliterate the city of Paradise, but it also killed at least 85 people and caused over $25 billion in damage and firefighting outlays. Greengrass’ film represents the wider picture and also focuses on a true story from the day when bus driver Kevin McKay – played here by Matthew McConaughey – helped rescue 22 young students from the local school, Ponderosa Elementary.

The account is taken from journalist Lizzie Johnson’s book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, for which she collated real moments from people involved. Greengrass developed Kevin’s story into a script with Brad Ingelsby, and while dramatic invention exists in the movie, there’s truth at the centre with dysfunctional families, main characters hoping for a second chance, and the troubles of day-to-day life when you’re doing a normal job. When you add in the physical wildfires, you’ve got a compelling story alongside an appropriate, and non-preachy, chronicle about climate change, as well as ordinary people becoming heroes and down-to-earth miracles that spring from such tragedies.

What The Lost Bus definitely is, is an undeniably intense ride. In the modern era, fire in films can often be lost in CGI and feel inconsequential, yet here it is dramatically realised with a story that’s compelling enough to keep you hooked. Having watched Ron Howard’s documentary on the destruction of Paradise, reviewed here, I’d witnessed the scale and obliteration of what fire can do, so I was interested to see if that fact could be made to feel ‘real’ and it’s achieved well.

While some characters are a little generic in their placement, it’s McConaughey’s character, Kevin, who’s key to keeping us captivated. We’re offered enough of his backstory, a man struggling in every aspect, with endless bills to pay, trying to be a father to a teenage son who doesn’t respect him. It’s initially a broken performance, pulling us into the believable. We join Kevin doing his usual school bus driver job, and after he finishes for the morning, he’s due to go back to the bus depot but other personal issues distract him. As this is in flow, the wildfire is beginning to spread around the edges of the city, originally the fire fighting team don’t even believe it’ll come near the city but the right level of dryness and wind turns it quickly into a raging inferno, sucking up all the energy it needs to keep it breathing.

As we head back to the city, Kevin ends up being the only person left on the right (or wrong) side of town, and volunteers to collect 22 kids stranded without any parental pick up. He does get there and is aiming to drop them off at an evacuation point, along with their teacher Mary Ludwig (a solid and honest America Ferrera), but lines of communication are down and once they arrive at the ‘safe’ space, it’s also on fire, and they need to find another way out.

What follows is a fight for survival against the deadliest of scenarios, a wildfire out of control and seemingly unescapable. The rest of The Lost Bus is Kevin and Mary trying to find a way out of the city with the kids on board, via whatever method they can think of. As their routes for getting out disappear, it feels like the inevitable is coming – but even if they manage to avoid the fire somehow, the smoke in the air could also suffocate them – it’s a horrendous situation.

As a whole, The Lost Bus could fall into generic narrative progressions, yet it’s fair to say that this ‘based on’ true life story keeps your attention. It also celebrates the tireless work of firefighters (shoutout to Yul Vazquez as Ray Martinez, the Cal Fire battalion chief) and beyond, which should never be understated in these types of stories. As a whole, the film gives us a fine lead performance from Matthew McConaughey, within a deathly situation, and the fire feels plausible – with the occasional inclusion of real-life footage keeping it even more real.

The Lost Bus is in select cinemas now, and on Apple TV+ from 3 October