FILMINFO

Firmly rooted in the tradition of music bios, but with such a unique subject it transcends the genre, veteran Miguel Faria Jr.'s salute to the great Brazilian composer Vinicius de Moraes (1913-1980) is something more than a listing of triumphs pre- and post- 'The Girl from Ipanema'. The pantheon of Brazilian music, from Caetano Veloso to Chico Buarque and Gilberto Gil, parade through a carnival of sassy, innovative tunes that have become evergreens, recounting stories about Vinicius as musician, poet, diplomat and lover of nine wives. Spending, drinking and marrying wife after wife, Vinicius wrote plays, poems and the music and lyrics to 400 ground-breaking songs, all the while carrying on a diplomatic career until kicked out by the dictatorship in 1969. Deborah Young, Variety.