|
Concerto Campestre review
:. Director: Henrique de Freitas Lima
:. Starring: Leonardo Vieira, Antonio Abujamra
:. Running Time: 1:40
:. Year: 2003
:. Country: Brazil
|
A fable about a young womanizing maestro set in 19th century Brazil, Henrique de Freitas Lima's Concerto Campestre navigates between romantic comedy and musical film, with a strong dose of social commentary in the background.
An ex-major reconverted farmer with a taste for classical music, Major Eleutério is an unexpected patron of the arts in the middle of the deserted pampa. Once the news spreads that he's been hosting a couple of Indians in exchange for daily concerts, a succession of musician wannabees show up at his house in the hope to find a roof and free meals. But with such a bunch of mismatched "talents", he quickly realizes that he needs a maestro and hires a young prodigy, also known for his affairs with married women. The maestro of course bites the forbidden fruit, namely the Major's young daughter, and the rest of the story unfolds like a tragedy, as mentioned by one of the characters.
There is a great sense of naiveté in Concerto Campestre, a film whose structure can be read like a cheesy romantic novel. Mixing innocence, easy poetry and a slight sense of perversion, this is the kind of work that is self-aware of its good nature, a mainstream family movie that knows how to be cute and plays it well, in the tradition of old-fashioned Hollywood movies and Disney fare — a sub-genre that was lightly spoofed in Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride. If Concerto Campestre could be summarized with that, it wouldn't really be worth mentioning here.
However, beneath the surface lies a social commentary, which gives the picture a more subversive aspect under its innocent facture. Through the character Major Eleutério, the filmmaker shows that Culture isn't always a sign of humanization as, despite his soft spot for the arts, the major remains a cruel and barbaric persona who embraces slavery and won't hesitate to abandon his daughter to a sure death for becoming pregnant before getting married. The film also shows that even the best actions might have bad consequences as love indirectly brings death and madness. One of the scenes involving a lunatic listening to an imaginary orchestra is even reminiscent of Werner Herzog's cinema, particularly Aguirre & Fitzcarraldo.
Concerto Campestre ends like a fairy tale, or like an operatic tragedy, as the director keeps repeating through the mouth of one of the characters, in case we haven't gotten his metaphor, but the multiple facets of his film as well as an interesting look at an era and music that are usually not associated with Brazil makes it worth it to attend this concerto, at least by curiosity for foreign cultures.
Fred Thom
 Movie Reviews: from 1998 to 2011
Movie Reviews: from 2012 to present
|
|
