A cura della redazione Seeyousound
“Narciso Em Ferias is one of the best films about the redemptive power of music that I have seen in my life, and the fact that music is almost entirely absent makes it even more extraordinary. Thank you Juanita and thank you Seeyousound for this wonderful film.”
Federico Sacchi, Musicteller
I FILM
As part of Into The Groove in the afternoon, a stroll through the dawn of English rock with the documentary Suburban Steps to Rockland by Giorgio Guernier, in its Italian premiere. The saga of the Ealing Club, the cradle of English rock, which christened artists who would go on to enter the firmament of world rock: the Rolling Stones, the Who, Eric Burdon, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton, to name just a few.
Thanks to the initiative of Alexis Korner and Cyril Davis, the ramshackle basement venue in west London, jokingly nicknamed “the moist hoist” because of the condensation that oozed from its walls (it could hold 200 people at most!), became, from 17 March (under the aegis of St Patrick!) 1962, a reference point of the English rhythm and blues scene. It was not only a cult venue but the forefather of the London clubs that arose afterwards, such as the Marquee.
The director Giorgio Guernier, who is Italian and lives in London, chatted with the audience and shared a few curiosities. He let us know that the film also contains a “piece” of Turin: the delightful animations that retrace the history of the venue are the work of Federico Parodi, who trained at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Turin.
He also explained that Tony Palmer, guest of honour at Seeyousound in the 2018 edition, was a key figure in the making of the documentary. Not only was a good part of the clips of great performances in the film, such as those of Muddy Waters and Jimy Hendrix, given by Mr Palmer, but he also proved a precious mentor when the director asked him for some advice once the work was finished.
For the section Rising Sound: Music Is The Weapon, in prima serata è andato in scena Narciso Em Ferias, un ritratto austero e intimo di Caetano Veloso.
Introducing the film was Ettore Caretta, a Turin-based producer and Caetano Veloso's Italian manager, who recalled how his first meeting with the musician took place in Turin itself, but was not at all fortunate!
It was 1991 and Veloso was due to perform at the “Giugno in Cascina” event, which that year was held at the Stadio Comunale. When his performance came, evidently running outside the scheduled times, the power was cut, compromising the show. Despite this incident, their friendship and professional relationship has never been broken.
Caretta also recalled the Brazilian artist's deep love for Italian cinema, in particular for Fellini, Antonioni and Bertolucci. Those were the years of Ultimo tango a Parigi and once, finding himself at dinner with Bertolucci, Veloso turned to him and said: “Come on, Bernardo, come on stage tomorrow and let's improvise a transgressive performance!” It seems that Bertolucci found an excuse to wriggle out of the embarrassment.
What emerges from this film with great authenticity is Veloso's very strong emotionality – says Caretta – both for the happy things and the sadder ones.
Here is how musicteller Federico Sacchi reacted to this fresco of the libertarian spirit of Caetano Veloso:
“Narciso Em Ferias is one of the very rare cases in which the film surpasses in power the book it is based on. Because that is essentially what it is: the film transposition of a chapter of Tropical Truth, Caetano Veloso's sui generis autobiography.
The plot is very simple. The directors took the artist, brought him to a courtyard that could be that of a prison, sat him on a chair and asked him to recount one of the most tragic episodes of his life: his arrest for alleged ideological crimes against the Brazilian military regime. Veloso's reconstruction of his 54 days of imprisonment, straddling ’68 and ’69 during the military dictatorship, is extremely faithful to the book; in many passages of the interview he uses the same words. I know because, after the screening, I went home and re-read the whole chapter. The difference is the way he uses those words.
In front of the camera Caetano stages (in an absolutely spontaneous way) a sort of theatrical piece, a cross between an exorcism and a psychoanalytic session, in which he uses his whole body to give force to the story. The intonation of his voice, the gestures of his hands, the way he leans towards the camera, the change of posture on the chair, the hand gestures, the laughter and the silences in which tears prevent him from speaking. The effect on the viewer is overwhelming, or at least it was for me. And then there are those three songs. Less than ten minutes of music in a film an hour and a half long. Three raw performances, voice and guitar, almost unbearable. As far as I am concerned, I will never again be able to listen to Hey Jude senza pensare a Caetano Veloso.
Narciso Em Ferias is one of the best films about the redemptive power of music that I have seen in my life, and the fact that music is almost entirely absent makes it even more extraordinary. Thank you Juanita and thank you Seeyousound for this wonderful film.”
Late in the evening, we close with a documentary dedicated to one of the women who experimented most with sound, Delia Derbyshire. The Myths And The Legendary Tapes is an original portrait of the pioneer of English electronic music, assistant to Luciano Berio and, with Ron Grainer, author of the soundtrack of the sci-fi television series Dr.Who realizzata nel 1963.
In origine Delia Derbyshire: The Myths And The Legendary Tapes was a short film, written and directed by Caroline Catz, who later expanded it into a feature film.
After the artist's death, tapes containing many recordings long thought lost were found, stored in cereal boxes, packed away in an attic in Northampton.
The documentary proceeds like an archaeological dig. Catz then tracked down many of Derbyshire's colleagues and collaborators, who paint an affectionate, intimate and honest portrait of a woman with a complex soul.
Their interviews are intriguing, but there are many other layers here. The attic tapes were sampled and manipulated by the artist Cosey Fanni Tutti, who guides the viewer through Derbyshire's home town and drags them through different dimensions, the same ones musically explored by the musician.
It could have been a dark and direct documentary; instead it turns out, for the most part, to be very entertaining. It ends with Derbyshire's imaginary voice playing with the myths that had accumulated around her life. “Blimey, I'm glad I'm back,” she says, “otherwise, who designs the myths?”.
At the end of the fourth day of Seeyousound, there are many sonic and visual stimuli received and just as many stories to be inspired by.
Of course Seeyousound does not stop here: check out the programme that awaits us on Day5, as always at Cinema Massimo!
