Dispararon al Pianista

One of the best Animation films, "They Shot the Piano Player" (Dispararon al pianista) is a kaleidoscopic foray into the world of music, politics, friendship and the search for truth and justice.

Tenório Jr. (Francisco Tenório Júnior) was considered the best Brazilian pianist of his time. Emerging during the height of Bossa Nova when the music had conquered America Tenório was at the forefront of the legendary scene, recording a solo album and collaborating with the likes of Vinicius de Moraes, Toquinho and Milton Nascimento. Performing as a pianist for Vinicius de Moraes' band when the latter toured Argentina in 1976 at the height of the country's dictatorship Tenório disappeared one night, never to be seen again. What transpired on that fateful evening is the core of this appealing and highly watchable toon/documentary on art and the evils of an oppressive regime.

Jeff Goldblum is the voice of American journalist Jeff Harris, the man who took on Tenório's haunting and tragic tale and wrote about it. The film is about his quest in finding the truth on Tenório's fate as he travels Brazil, Argentina and the United States. The interviews conducted with the music's luminaries like Gilberto Gil and Joao Donato in animation is a visual treat adding further to the adult nature and documentary style of the flick. The colorful graphics add to the Latin/tropical reflection and vibrancy of the music. Although slow at parts with its newslike approach the film conveys the power and magic of art in transcending and triumphing above some of the most unforgivable of evils.

A celebration of a sound, a nation and a talent, "They Shot the Piano Player" is a commemoration and a reminder. More animation of this kind should be made and hopefully a film like this would serve as an inspiration for more to follow. For fans of music and Animation this is one that shouldn't be missed.

A young Brazilian piano player, Francisco Tenório Júnior, unexpectedly disappears one night and is never heard from again. While it is likely that he is a victim of the brutal military regimes that ruled Latin America at the time, a journalist from New York - fascinated by Tenório's music - travels to Brazil to uncover the truth.

They Shot the Piano Player is a dazzling, animated, and documentary-style dive into bossa nova, samba, and the music of Brazil. The film is scattered and not organized well but it is a colorful and intriguing true story. It is soothing to the soul to see the film's artistry of Rio in moonlight and the bright and vibrant clubs and landscapes of Brazil. It is also interesting to learn about the military regimes of the time where tens of thousands of innocent people were tortured and killed for no reason. Their friends and family never got to say goodbye. These people are not alive or dead, only "disappeared."

The film serves as a reminder that, beneath the surface of the music and the mesmerizing landscapes, lies a deeper narrative of struggle, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of those who resisted oppression. The poignant stories of the disappeared become a collective cry for justice, echoing through the years and demanding acknowledgment of the atrocities committed during that dark chapter in history.

In conclusion, "They Shot the Piano Player" is not just a documentary; it is a symphony of sight and sound that resonates with the heartstrings of its audience. The scattered narrative mirrors the disarray of a nation under the grip of political turmoil, while the vibrant visuals and soul-stirring music provide a compelling backdrop to the search for truth. Through Francisco Tenório Júnior's story, the film becomes a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity, an ode to those who vanished into the shadows but whose echoes linger in the soul of Brazil.

On March 18, 1976, pianist Tenorio Jr, one of the most promising Brazilian musicians of the time, disappeared without a trace after leaving his hotel in Buenos Aires to buy cigarettes. New York, 2010, Jeff Harris, an accredited music journalist, sets out to discover the truth about Francisco Tenorio Júnior, a young Brazilian samba-jazz pianist who disappeared in Argentina and who was working as a pianist for the famous musician Vinicius. Then the stubborn New York music journalist begins a hectic investigation to discover the truth behind this case, which occurred a few days before the coup d'état in Argentina.

This is a drama, it is a musical, and it is at the same time a documentary about the past and the present, adding an acid criticism of the South American dictatorships that proliferated in the seventies. They Shot The Piano Player (2023) captures a fleeting time filled with creative freedom at a turning point in Latin American history in the 1960s and 1970s, just before the continent was engulfed by totalitarian regimes. Dealing with a New York music journalist embarking on a quest to discover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of the young Brazilian piano virtuoso named Tenorio Jr. The journalist's voice in the international version is that of Jeff Goldblum who previously worked for Fernando Trueba in 'The dream of the crazy monkey'. A celebratory origin story of the world-famous Latin musical movement Bossa Nova; 'They Shot The Piano Player' captures the details of a time gone by with creative freedom emerging and new musical styles exploding and influencing all parts of the world but especially in the United States. The film and its title pay tribute to Tirad on the Pianist (1960) and Jules and Jim (1962) by François Truffaut. To help accurately represent Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and other South American countries of the 1970s, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal undertook an extensive research trip and were able to view photographs from government archives of the time. The geography of the cities where the action takes place is as accurate as possible to the design of real life, in fact all the buildings are real buildings. There is also a lengthy description of the Mechanical School of the Argentine Navy located in Buenos Aires, and today converted into a museum, where suspects were apparently kidnapped during the time of General Videla's dictatorship. There they subjected the prisoners to severe torture, one of the main executioners being Captain Astiz, nicknamed the Angel of Death.

The film based on real events is made three years after the premiere of the animated film "Chico y Rita" (being the first Spanish animated film nominated for the United States Academy Award for Best Animated Film) Trueba and Javier Mariscal They team up again in this film, nominated for best animated film at the Goya 20124, a tribute to Latin music that combines documentary with political reflection, samba-jazz, Bosa nova, film noir and thriller. This intelligent but somewhat slow film was well and professionally directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, although it becomes somewhat tiresome due to the multitude of interviews that occur throughout the somewhat long story. Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal's collaboration dates back 10 years ago when Trueba asked designer Mariscal to create a poster for his Latin jazz documentary Calle 54 (2000). The two would work together frequently, to the point of being co-owners of a jazz restaurant in Madrid. Trueba directed numerous hits such as ¨Sal gross¨, ¨Demasiado¨, ¨Milagro De Candeal¨, ¨Year of Lights¨, ¨The Girl of Your Dreams¨, ¨Calle 54¨, ¨Embrujo De Shanghai¨, ¨Chico y Rita¨ . Trueba was President of the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and received the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1994 for ¨Belle Epoque¨ (1992). And the film "The Artist and the Model" was also handled with gentle confidence by Trueba, as always. And while "The Girl of Your Eyes" was a great success, one of his last films, "The Queen of Spain," was a resounding failure. Rating: 6/10. Passable and decent Spanish animated film.

Maybe a bit too long, maybe too many interviews and maybe a little bit disorganized. Nonetheless, very interesting (and touching). If you are a fan of Brazilian "jazz" (bossa nova) or quality music in general, this movie is a must. The animation is well made, although a bit on the simple side. One is tempted to think it's because of money: a more natural animation would have been way more expensive. But, maybe, this simple style does lend the movie a charm, and is probably trying to give the viewer a feeling of the 1960s/1970s, the way (some) illustrations used to look like back then.

Some viewers don't know that all Latin American dictatorships of the 1960s and 1970s were endorsed (and even financially supported) by the United States, which even sent CIA agents to train their police forces in the "art" of torturing. It makes one think about how hypocritical US governments can be.