A few things excited me about this movie. I love films about musicians as I’m a big music lover. And, it’s going to be playing at my favorite theater in town, the Angelika Film Center. So I could recline my seat, while eating a burger and drinking a glass of wine, and hearing some good Bossa Nova [truth be told, I’m really just a huge fan of Antonio Carlos Jobim].
The film showcases a lot of family and musicians of Francisco Tenorio Junior talking about this piano player that was big in the Bossa Nova scene, who disappeared in the mid-70s. I immediately thought of how great the movie “Searching For Sugar Man” was (find that great documentary).
The animation used to tell this story was beautiful to look at.
Jeff Goldblum (a talented pianist in his own right) plays Jeff Harris, a fictional journalist traveling to Rio de Janeiro to tell this story. His recognizable cadence can sometimes be a distraction. Other times it seems his enthusiasm isn’t properly conveyed. There are also times he seems a bit uninterested in the way he delivers his lines.
We get a story that not only covers Bossa Nova in Europe, but also America, and various influences. We see Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and we hear songs from all of them (and at least three Jobim tunes). I especially liked the scenes of the musicians playing, whether it was on stage or in the studio.
We learn a lot about the military dictatorship in the country during that time period.
It seems this movie will mostly appeal to fans of Bossa Nova, and I’m just not sure how many of those folks are out there. If you are a fan, go this weekend and have a blast.
2 stars out of 5.