Fabricating Tom Zé (2006)
The life and work of one of the most controversial Brazilian musicians, having as its backdrop Tom Zé's 2005 European Tour. The documentary shows a detailed vision of Tom Zé's personal musical universe, in which a guitar and a vacuum cleaner have the same melodic importance. In intimate interviews, he narrates different parts of his life and tells us about his musical debut in the early 60s, his downfall during the 70s, and his 90s comeback.
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Reviews
One of my all time favorites.
Memorable, crazy movie
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
Tom Zé is a very creative Brazilian musician, whose work is unique, very sophisticated and one that deserves a great deal of attention (some have called him "the Brazilian Frank Zappa", not because they sound alike _they don't!_, but because the two of them studied classical music but composed popular music). Unfortunately, this documentary (that follows a somewhat cowardly and lazy trend in the contemporary Brazilian "film industry", documentaries about popular musicians _they're cheap and easy to make and have an almost guaranteed audience) fails to be as ambitious and rigorous as the artist it portraits.Basically, we see Tom Zé on tour in Europe (France, Italy and Switzerland), to show us how he works with his band (with a great deal of improvisation _his concerts frequently seem like rehearsals, which sometimes is fun, sometimes not) and his wife and manager, but also to rub in our faces that an anti-commercial and under-appreciated artist from the backlands of a poor country in South America can "make it" (the tone is obviously hagiographic).Then there is a quick (and therefore failed) attempt to biograph him. Then he is shown as a misunderstood genius and the film tries to answer why it took so long for him to get his well-deserved (although not big) recognition (citing old grudges that are unexplained) but, again, it fails to do so. Basically, it is a very poor, confusing and disappointing film _very differently from Mr. Zé's music. Sadly, it doesn't do him and his work justice. But check out his albums, though _specially his masterpiece, "Estudando o Samba".