At the cinema: They shot the piano player… Why should you see this film with the star of Jurassic Park on music?

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A New York music journalist investigates the disappearance of Brazilian virtuoso pianist Francisco Tenorio Jr. on the eve of a coup d’état in Argentina. Celebrating jazz and bossa nova, the film depicts a brief period of creative freedom in Latin American history in the 1960s and 1970s, before the continent fell under the yoke of totalitarian regimes.

3 good reasons to quit

After several live-action feature films since the early 1980s, Fernando Trueba moved into animation in 2011 with Chico & Rita, assisted by Javier Mariscal. Here’s why you shouldn’t miss their second collaboration, also live.

1 – Based on a little-known true story…

Music journalist Jeff Harris, who tells the story, does not exist. But Francisco Tenorio Jr. Yes. Born on July 4, 1941 in Rio de Janeiro, this Brazilian pianist died in March 1976 at the age of 34. Carefully consider the conditional. Because although her fate is unfortunately not in doubt, the circumstances of her disappearance have never really been clarified. And each interlocutor of the main character has a different theory, until the key testimony.

But they all point to the same conclusion: Francisco Tenorio Jr. paid a high price for the wind of freedom he brought to his music. The film makes it a symbol of the oppression that characterizes the dictatorship and how those who try to resist it are treated. At the crossroads of investigation, political thriller and documentary, the story uses animation and vivid colors to bring the pianist to life.

“I originally wanted to make a classic documentary about Tenorio”co-director Fernando Trueba elaborates. “There was nothing on him, so I did over 150 filmed interviews with his musician friends, sound engineers, his wife Carmen, his lover Malena, his children. I went to Paris, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Rio. , São Paulo… I also went to Argentina to see the places where Tenorio spent his last days, then I had more information about him than his family and the police!

“Thanks to the animation, we could bring the tenorio to life and perform it. Thanks to Javier’s drawings and colors, we were able to ‘reopen’ the bars of Rio de Janeiro, where bossa nova was born in the 1990s. An opportunity to recreate the dark years of Argentina.” A form, a creature, and a film that tells the story of art and South America amid an uncertain destiny, what more could you ask for?

2 – … with a famous voice

If there really are several people interviewed by Jeff Harris (Gilberto Gil leads the way), this does not apply to the journalist, who can still be considered the voice of his directors. Except it’s owned by… Jeff Goldblum. Fernando Trueba had already starred in The Dream of a Mad Monkey in 1990 (also as Anemone) before trying his hand at animation with Chico and Rita in 2011 alongside Javier Mariscal.

And it goes without saying that the singing timbre of Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park, himself a jazz pianist when he’s not in front of the camera, fits this story perfectly against the background of the music, which he tells mostly in voice. So much so that, at first, They Shot the Piano Player resembles an animated episode of the documentary series The World According to Jeff Goldblum, available on Disney+. As long as reality takes precedence over fiction and the actor manages to forget himself… as long as he continues to hold us captive.

3 – Tribute to music and cinema

Is it really a coincidence that the title “They Shot the Piano Player” recalls Shootez sur le pianiste? Of course no. And not just because Fernando Trueba admits that he wrote the script with the poster of Francois Truffaut’s second feature in front of him at his desk.

The film explains that Bossa Nova and French New Wave were launched in the same year, 1959, revolutionizing their respective fields by overturning previously established codes. Therefore, cinephiles will be delighted to see excerpts of The Shot the Piano Player from A bout de souffle, Les 400 Coups and the animated version of Jules et Jim. At the risk of wanting to re-watch these movies while listening to the music featured in this animated feature.

Starting with Francisco Tenorio Jr., who, despite being the author of only one solo album, remains a major figure in music history, with an influence that has grown over time. That they shot the piano player to highlight this is only fair.