In '60s Brazil, a maverick gang of musicians rebelled against a military dictatorship with ‘Tropicália’, a mix of bossa nova rhythms and US rock.
Sadly, Marcelo Machado’s doc doesn’t do justice to the story, underselling the dramatic arc of experimentation and exile in favour of a slackly structured jam.
There’s a noble ambition to recapture the vibrancy of the music, but the results are just confusing to anybody without a working knowledge of Brazilian history.
Worse, Machado’s habit of laying clumsy gimmicks over the performances detracts from the soundtrack.
