A world-famous genius that no one has seen for decades. An author who writes about genius and takes his own life. And a filmmaker who continues the mission. Everything in one document.
Berlin – Millions of people’s hearts open up with his music. In the 1950s, the Brazilian João Gilberto (1931-2019) gave the world the Bossa Nova, a delicate sound as friendly as the weather in Rio de Janeiro.
The genius lived his last decades completely withdrawn, even having the food put in front of the apartment door. The German writer Marc Fischer, born in 1970, once went in search of the world-famous eccentric and wrote the book “Hobalala – In Search of João Gilberto” about it. In 2011, Fischer committed suicide a week before it was published. In 2018, a year before Gilberto’s death, the filmmaker Georges Gachot took up Marc Fischer’s search again. He made the film “Where are you, João Gilberto?”. The documentary with the very strange history can be seen on Wednesday at 11.35 p.m. on BR television.
The friendly Gachot asks his way through the metropolis of Rio, turns to friends, relatives and Gilberto’s cook. Like Marc Fischer, he sometimes wanders almost aimlessly through the metropolis. At the beginning, a tracking shot goes along a greasy high-rise corridor. The singer and guitarist with the big glasses is said to live behind one of the dirty doors. “He’s world famous,” says Gachot. “Everyone knows his songs and could whistle them off the cuff. But hardly anyone would recognize him on the street. He has been hiding in his room for 30 years and lives contrary to people. He gets up when everyone else goes to sleep. He lies down when everyone else gets up. Like a ghost. “
Remarkably, the filmmaker is not only on the lookout for the world-class musician, but also closely follows the traces of the dead writer’s research, thus creating a cinematic retelling of the book. Gachot meets Gilberto’s ex-wife in a café – just like Marc Fischer once did. She says: “I was fascinated by Marc’s theory that João seduces people with his voice. João is the greatest seducer there is. He gets close to you and makes you do things that you could never have imagined. He convinced me to marry him, just imagine. “
With the book like a travel guide under his arm, Gachot wanders through the world of bossa nova. He would like to complete the portrait that Fischer wrote of his idol and its soft music and complete Fischer’s fruitless search. Based on Fischer’s encounters, notes, diary entries, photos as well as image and sound recordings, Gachot embarks on a tragicomic musical journey to the origins and pioneers of bossa nova and comes very, very close to the legendary lost musician. Will he find him? dpa
