They shot the piano player: An ingenious mix of genres (review)
With their animated documentary, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal virtuously draw the contours of a Brazilian musician, precursor of bossa nova, who has passed away.
1976, 2 a.m., Buenos Aires. The Brazilian pianist Francisco Tenório Jr, precursor of Bossa Nova, goes out to buy a sandwich (or was it a pack of cigarettes?). Then he disappears, disappearing without a trace, six days before the Argentine military coup. Coincidence? Thirty years later, Fernando Trueba discovered this forgotten virtuoso on a Brazilian music CD. Then begins an investigation with twists and turns around the mystery of this disappearance, during which the director invokes memory and collects the testimonies of those who knew Tenório. Initially conceived as live action, this quest for truth ultimately takes the form of an animated documentary which follows the investigation of Jeff, a New York music journalist. Graphic designer Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba (Chico & Rita) brilliantly explore the narrative and visual possibilities of animation, which illustrates both the real interviews and Tenório’s imagined sequences. Information abounds, colors overflow, the music is in full swing, and the film plunges uncompromisingly into Latin America in the 1970s where creative freedom triumphed, while the arrival of totalitarianism rumbled. Much more than a need to elucidate the matter, They Shot The Piano Player works to sanctify a fallen artist and to praise his art. They shot the pianistbut Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal managed to bring it back to life.
By Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal. With the voices of Jeff Goldblum, Abel Alaya, Tony Ramos… Duration 1h44. Released January 31, 2024
