Bossa Brazil: 'Stories of Love - The Birth Of Bossa Nova'

When you think of Bossa Nova as a style of music, the likelihood is that images of effortless, vintage South American chic and '60s bohemians strumming away on their acoustic guitars will flash through your mind. A traditionally quite gentle sound, it’s easy to overlook the genre’s counter-cultural roots and complex relationship with American popular music.

So, Bossa Brazil, a documentary celebrating fifty years of Bossa Nova, starts with two of the movement’s greatest protagonists, Roberto Menescal and Carlos Lyra (now old men), chatting about its earliest beginnings as a means of empowerment from the intellectual establishment. This journey strolls from the release of 'Chega De Saudande (No More Blues)' in 1958 and Bossa’s foxtrot and samba heritage through to the emergence of the men and women (notably prolific composer ‘Tom’ Jobim, sultry chanteuse Nara Leao and poet turned dark lyricist Vinicius De Morais) who would go on to define it with a classic crossover performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1962. This performance heralded Bossa’s emergence as a worldwide musical force (coinciding with Brazil’s overall cultural renaissance) as key figure Jobim’s influence on the likes of Sinatra and US jazz musicians came into play.

Menescal and Lyra are old friends and it shows in a real rapport, which reels the otherwise potentially indifferent viewer into the Brazil of fifty years ago. The pair are less than dynamic presenters (they are musicians, not documentarians after all) though their obvious enthusiasm and knowledge of the scene they played a part in creating is fascinating. Other surviving key players in the story are invited to cover the songs of their peers, which offer interesting takes on the classics and something unique for Bossa fans who already know the history. The wide array of talent involved is impressive to say the least; their gifts are undiminished by time.

Taking the viewer through a tour of the key Rio De Janeiro locations in Bossa’s story, director Paulo Thiango inter-cuts this with stunning landscape shots of the city’s Sugar Loaf Mountain, iconic statue Christ The Redeemer and the beautiful pastel shades of its world-famous Ipanema beach. A slight problem lies with the lack of decent footage from the era (instead, the film is reliant on extremely static black and white photography), leaving the viewer to take the endless stream of talking heads’ word as gospel. Still, the striking scenery coupled with smooth, subtle editing between scenes is synchronized well with the mellifluous elegance of the music. This, perhaps, explains more about the appeal of Bossa Nova than words ever could.



Released on DVD on 14th July 2008 by Warner Music Entertainment.

Written by Nick Aldwinckle.