Brasileirinho
In Brasileirinho, Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki explores Brazil’s choro music, a synthesis of nineteenth-century European styles, African rhythms, and improvised solos inspired by ‘indigenous’ depth of feeling. This film is all about the music — it has no real narrative, and the interviews with choro musicians reveal very little about their personal lives — so it’s just as well the music is great, and played with visible and audible passion. Choro is a bit like the more improvisational strains of traditional North American jazz, but it feels folkier, with mandolins a prominent feature of most of the bands in the film. Also, whereas the solos in a jazz piece are usually distinct from the piece’s regular, unmodified melody, and from each other, the boundaries of choro solos are often not so well defined, with a lot of interplay between musicians, and the rhythm and original melody continually making subtle and dynamic variations.
Brasileirinho is full of beautiful scenes, such as a large group of guitarists, mandolinists and brass players of all ages gathered around a “choro table” to drink beer, eat, and make music. Other beautiful moments include students going to “choro school” filling their bus with music, and a soulful solo performance by guitar maestro Yamandu Costa. This doco is often visually stunning, too — Kaurismäki’s scenic shots of Rio de Janeiro emotively convey his love for his adopted home.
If you don’t appreciate fine music, Brasileirinho probably isn’t for you. But if you do, you’ll love this film and leave the cinema with a spring in your step, clicking your fingers. A lot of jazz feels to me like the musicians are anxiously searching for the secret to life; after watching Brasileirinho, you could believe Brazil’s choro musicians have found it.
4/5
Ben Fardell
