Nostalgic for some and “too popular” for others, the songs of Odair Jose, Waldick Soriano and Beloved Baptist were always seen with great affection by the director Rafael Gomes and, according to him, deserved a return visit.
“The shameless feeling, that of ripping the chest, works as a seed for other musical genres that came later, such as feminejo, for example”, says the director, who adds: “In the film, the music works in a different universe. ”.
Serving as a guiding thread, the songs of “My Love Album” intertwine the story of Julius (Gabriel Leone ), a very straight-laced young dentist, who borders on boring.
After being abandoned by his girlfriend of many years, he receives the news that he is the son of Odilon Ricardo (also played by Gabriel Leone), a popular and womanizing singer from the 1970s.
In this, he also meets a completely different half-brother. On a journey to discover more about his own father, Júlio ends up revisiting the loves he lived throughout his life.
Divided into chapters, as if it were an LP, the comedy features Gabriel Leone in a double role, with references to the look of Odair José (who plays a small part in the film) and Roberto Carlos .
The actor recorded the songs in advance, and then dubbed himself in some scenes that work as a kind of music video within the film.
“Visually, the idea was to allude to the aesthetics of the 1970s clips, such as ‘Wuthering Heights’, by Kate Bush, and ‘I want only’, by Roberto Carlos, proposing a game with the fact that it was all a setting and a simulation”, says Rafael Gomes.
The songs, in turn, were born from a partnership formed by Odair José, who composed the songs, and Arnaldo Antunes, responsible for the lyrics. According to Rafael, working with both was very organic.
“The script didn’t have any music, just vague features about what I wanted,” says the director. “A week would go by, Odair would compose, based on what I told him, and send it by WhatsApp. It was very accurate”.
Unlike the boxed Brazilian romantic comedy, Rafael Gomes uses editing to bring dynamism to the film that, despite having a story full of tangled clichés, does not fall into the sameness of a melodrama.
The cheesy songs are always accompanied by a video clip and dialogues that bring interesting reflections on what love is or, at least, on what young people between 20 and 30 years old think this feeling is.
A love that, throughout the film, permeates all genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations.
“We look at clichés as part of the experience,” says Rafael. “As if the question were: what do we make of what clichés make of us? Or, to put it another way: how many clichés do you make a sentimentality with?”
“My Love Album” premieres this Thursday (18) in theaters.
Source: CNN Brasil
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