Title: Music According To Tom Jobim

Director: Nelson Pereira dos Santos

Music is a consistent theme at this year’s New York Film Festival. Documentaries and concert films about George Harrison and Andrew Bird make up the festival’s line-up but not to be overlooked, a documentary about musician and composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim is not to be missed. “Music According To Tom Jobim” is a wonderful film that follows the career and influence of this musical visionary, and is probably the most fun you’ll have during the whole film festival.

Antonio Carlos Jobim, also known as “Tom Jobim,” created and revolutionized pop music in the 60s, not only in his native Brazil but in the entire world. His soulful blending of a jazzy tone, afro-beat sensibility and Brazilian flavor, wowed audiences in the late 50s and early 60s and can be felt in pop music today from artist like Beck or Cibo Matto. Jobim was the primary force behind the Bossa Nova movement in Brazil. A movement that gained popularity with “The Girl From Ipanema” (Garrote de Ipanema), and many other standards embraced by singers like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald. This energy and style is captured so well in “Music According To Tom Jobim” that it’s intoxicating and infectious to the film’s audience.

The structure of the documentary is an interesting one, not told in traditional “talking heads” or even structured in a narrative, “Music According To Tom Jobim” feels free from these conventions, letting it’s subject speak for himself through his music. There are no audio clips of interviews with the legendary composer but rather numerous audio of his music performed by not only Jobim, but classic and contemporary artist. This “greatest hits” of filmmaking is refreshing and lends itself to the charm and relevance of the Bossa Nova movement.

The filmmaker sets a pretty clear goal with this film, to celebrate the life and music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. It doesn’t inform you on the man and his family life, but gives an audience a clear view and feeling of his music by experiencing it. In this way, “Music According To Tom Jobim” is arousing and joyous movie. Spanning the source of influence from Brazil to the United States to Japan is a pretty impressive feat.

The film is edited and curated with an expert eye, consisting of found footage, concert footage and old live TV broadcasts. We see that influence as remarkable artist like Dizzy Gillespie and Elis Regina take the stage or the recording booth to sing or perform this material. This is a valuable thing to watch if you are a music lover or filmgoer. This film is so rich with tones and moments that hit hints of sweetness and longing, such is a life told in music and soul.

This is a beautiful and moving film. “Music According To Tom Jobim” is a gem in this year’s New York Film Festival line-up. An audience can appreciate this key figure’s contribution to the arts and culture and do it in such a way that’s not boring and dull but quiet the opposite. Tapping your foot and nodding your head to the beat is inescapable and is a requirement for the sheer enjoyment of this film and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s work. This is definitely worth watching!

“Music According To Tom Jobim” is screening for one day, on Oct 2nd.

Technical: A

Story: B+

Overall: A-