DVD Review: Bossa Brazil (2008)
"Viva Bossa-sa-sa! Viva Bossa-sa-sa-sa!" When Caetano Veloso yells that, you know he's on to sumthin' cool. Even at it's most third-rate and cruddy, Bossa Nova is still a million times cooler than just about anything else. As a kid, one of my most cherished LPs was this crappy MFP release called 'The Beatles, Bacharach and Bach Go Bossa'. It was barrel scraping Bossa with sleeve notes that said "if your party is sagging in the middle, then play this album!" It was awful. It was exploitative. I loved it.
Of course, Bossa Nova isn't merely the soundtrack to lava lamps and avocado bathroom suites and women in high waisted loons. Bossa Nova is the exact big bang point in Brazilian music when they discovered what happened when you mix samba and jazz. In essence, take two really cool styles of music, throw them in a melting pot and whatever comes out is bound to be great... and it was. It was Brazil's identity, rising with their glories on the football pitch and soundtracked Cinema Novo and... hell... it shook everyone up without ever going beyond a hypnotic whisper. So does Bossa Brazil: Stories of Love - The Birth of Bossa Nova do Brazil justice?
Most documentary films like this are too wrapped up in sentiment and hyperbole to ever really win you over. Main players stay away because they probably don't wanna go back to their roots... it ain't cool going back to your roots if you're a big star. However, this ain't the case with this cracking film. No chance. If each country has a sound... say, England sounds like Pentangle or The Kinks and America sounds like The Grateful Dead or bluegrass... then Brazil is completely and utterly Bossa Nova. To me, the sound of bossa IS Brazil. And Bossa Nova gave birth to the Tropicalia movement. If it wasn't for the release of Chega De Saudande in '58, you can kiss your Os Mutantes LPs goodbye.
Instead of getting some 'sleb to declare undying love, this film smartly sticks with the people who where there are the start. Roberto Menescal and Carlos Lyra, like their music, are laid-back, humourous and smart. They go back to the tiny clubs of Rio where it all began and visit all the people who made it what it is today. Man, it's less a history lesson and more a bunch of old friends meeting up and playing some incredible music together. Of course, some of these people include Joao and Astrud Gilberto, Jobim, Joao Donato, Wanda Sa... and loads of other people who, after watching this film, you feel ashamed for having not heard of them before (unless you're pretty well read on the subject).
Apart from the anecdotal evidence and all that, what makes this doc' so brilliant and worthwhile is the fact that you get to chart the journey through loads of different forms of Bossa Nova. Each exponent has their own unique rhythm and phrasing and after 20 minutes of watching, lightbulbs start flashing above your head as you start noticing the subtleties... man, it's great. You can feel like a jazz expert for an hour or so. Basically, if you've got any interest in music, man, you should buy this. It'll make a fine change from watching documentaries about tortured artists in loud rock bands. The shallowest part of the stream always made the loudest sound... so get with the quiet and be ready to catch your jaw when it hits the ground. Great tales and even better music. This is a must.
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