Vancouver International Film Festival 2005
350 films in 16 days. If you suppose an average of 90 minutes per film that's 525 hours which is far more than the 384 hours that make up 16 days. So it's an impossibility to watch them all. For this year I'm limiting myself to music related films and a few others which pique my curiosity. This still leaves me with 12-20 films of interest.
The first film is Maria Bethania: Music is Perfume [MARIA]. Knowing almost nothing about Brazilian music it was wonderful to discover one of its greats. She has a remarkably deep, dark, expressive voice which could almost be a male tenor's. At a youthful 59 years old she's in full command of her instrument, is full of energy and ideas, and has a deep understanding of music. Many of the songs she sings are about love, loss, and longing. Bethania even comments that in Brazilian songs the word "coração" (heart) is used so many times you get tired of it.
This film shows Bethania the consummate musician but does not really show Bethania the private woman. Her mother and brother are interviewed but there is little about her personal life. I wasn't even sure if she was married or had children. Its definitely all about the music. The musical performances are wonderful. I had to stop myself from clapping at several points in the film.
It was a special treat to have the film's director Georges Gachot in the audience. There was a question and answer session at the end. Here's hoping there's a DVD release to hold the hours of footage that didn't make it into the 85 minute film.
Thumbs up!
No comments:
Post a Comment