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Streaming now on Netflix,They Shot the Piano Playeris an unusual and captivating film that fuses history and fiction to explore the roots of Bossa Nova music while also serving as a beautiful tribute to a lost star. Narrated byJeff Goldblum(Jurassic Park,Independence Day) and directed by Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba (Belle Époque,Chico & Rita),They Shot the Piano Playeruses a fragmented style of animation to piece together the past and the present to honor the birth of the Bossa Nova style and the contributions of piano player Francisco Tenorio Jr.
Goldblum stars as Jeff Harris, a music fan and journalist who travels to Latin America to write a book on the Bossa Nova movement of music. From Brazil to Buenos Aires, Harris interviews noted musicians and becomes intrigued when, time after time, the musicians give note to an unfamiliar musician, Francisco Tenorio Jr. A popular piano player who suddenly went missing after a show, Tenorio Jr’s contribution to the popular style while his name remains unknown intrigues Harris and sends him on a search to discover the fate of the lost artist.
While the journalist himself is fictional,the interviews with the Latin American musicians and their exploration of Tenorio Jr.’s disappearance and presumed death are real. The combination of the fictional Harris investigation withthe animated representationof facts creates a mysterious and mystical journey that honors both Bossa Nova music and the contributions of Tenorio Jr.
They Shot the Piano Player
Netflix’s They Shot the Piano Player Honors the Genre
They Shot the Piano Player is a tribute to Bossa Nova music. A combination of Samba and West Coast Jazz, Bossa Nova was developed in the late 1950s and had among its fans Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sarah Vaughn. These are artists who, in fact, inspired Bossa Nova itself. The fictional Harris' journey from New York City to Argentina and Brazil serves as a doorway for current audiences who may be unfamiliar with the Bossa Novastyle of music(‘The Girl from Ipanema’ being a famous example).
As Harris speaks with the Latin American artists about the invention and exploration of Bossa Nova, music notes flood in and fill in the background to provide a robust voice as if the music itself is a character that wants to speak. The animation’s drift between interview and performance piece in a time-jumping narrative helps lead to this dream-like quality that would allow the music to carry itself in such a role.
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Among the artists whose music is highlighted in the film are Paulo Moura, Gilbert Gil, Caetano Veloso, as well as Grammy-winning Jaoa Gilberto. Gil, Gilberto, and Veloso are also represented in the cast as they provide Harris with information about their contemporary artist, Tenorio Jr., whose shadow hovers over the film andincites Harris to chase it.
They Shot the Piano Player Is a Study That Highlights the Artist
Francisco Tenorio Jr. was a Brazilian pianist, well-regarded and considered one of the most important artists of his generation. In March of 1976, after a performance in Buenos Aires, Tenorio Jr. went missing. 10 yearsafter his disappearance, a former member of the Naval Secret Service confessed that Tenorio Jr. was kidnapped by the military. During interviews with Gilberto, Veloso, and Gil, as well as other Latin American artists and composers,Tenorio Jr.’s contribution to the Bossa Nova genre is explored both as an artist and then later as a husband and friend. A series of interviews stylized together into a story, the film asks and then answers the question of ‘Who is Francisco Tenorio Jr.?’ and even worse, ‘How did he disappear?’.
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The character of Tenorio Jr. is sketched out in the overlapping interviews that are refined and colored out as the film continues on. From fellow artists and friends to interviews with his wife and children, the film narrows in and paints who he was by highlighting his absence in beautiful, aching detail.They Shot the Piano Playeris a portrait of both the music as well as the man who abruptly lost his place in the story. A rediscovery of both the artist and the art, under the gaze of a fictional journalist, Tenorio Jr.’s true-to-life story and an unfortunate end take its place.
They Shot the Piano Playerscreened at several film festivals, including the Telluride Film Festival, theToronto Film Festival, and the British Film Festival. Released by Sony Pictures Classics, the film was released in Spain in October 2023 before releasing in limited theaters across the US and worldwide. The film receivedgenerally positive reviewson both Rotten Tomatoes (79% critic score) and Metacritic (74%). Along with Jeff Goldblum, the film also stars Tony Ramos, Abel Ayala, Roberta Wallach, and Stephen Huges.They Shot the Piano Playeris now available to stream onNetflix.
