Cert 12A
87 mins
BBFC advice: Contains brief nudity, news footage of riots and discriminatory language
ON a beautiful warm summer's day, it seems appropriate to have had the swaying beats of South America lingering on the air.
This morning, I took in Tropicalia, Marcelo Machado's tribute to the liberal music and film movement in Brazil in the mid/late 1960s.
I confess that my knowledge of Brazilian music is limited to Sergio Mendes and the samba song which is played before every World Cup, accompanied by some outrageous on-the-pitch flamboyance.
My view of Brazilians is largely based around football (their players and their fans) so I think of them as a free-thinking, joyous nation.
This is largely borne out by Tropicalia. However, the incongruity is that the country has, for much of its recent past, been under the rule of dictators.
The military regime in 1968 had a big impact on liberal musicians such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, the leaders of the Tropicalia movement.
With help of contemporaneous interviews to accompany archive footage, the musicians and film-makers of the day discuss Tropicalia and its influences.
I found it more interesting as the film went on.
For the first half hour I was a bit lost because I wasn't aware of Brazilian cultural references (important TV shows of the era feature prominently).
Thereafter, however, the film grabbed me more, showing how the state opposed Tropicalia to the point that Caetano and Gil were arrested and ultimately exiled.
I wish the movie's structure had been better but for a quick dip into 1960s Brazil, and, in particular, its arts scene, it's worth watching.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: blink it and you'll miss it.
Overall rating: 5.5/10