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Calle 54

2000, Movie, G, 105 mins

Calle 54: Review

CALLE 54
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Not to mince words, but director Fernando Trueba's tribute to Latin jazz is right up there with the best music films ever made, a worthy successor to THE LAST WALTZ or STOP MAKING SENSE. The format is simple: Concert footage shot in the intimate confines of a small soundstage, interspersed with brief and usually amusing documentary snippets that put the music and performers in cultural and artistic context. The performances themselves are a succession of small miracles, from Chano Dominguez's electrifying fusion of Thelonius Monk and flamenco to the late Tito Puente gleefully mugging his way through the rhythmic complexities of an irrepressible instrumental suite with the energy of a man one-quarter his age. Trueba's direction also verges on miraculous; despite the physical limitations imposed by his studio locations, he gives each segment a distinct visual identity through camera movement, costuming, lighting, editing or a combination of the four. Yet his technique never calls attention to itself; it's always at the service of the music. If you had to single out a special sequence, the nod would probably go to the one featuring Chico O'Farrill's big band — when their atmospheric and harmonically inventive homage to Charlie Parker suddenly pops off the screen in drop-dead-gorgeous B&W (the rest of the film is in color). The effect is so startling, it's almost chemical. Unfortunately, Trueba doesn't quit there, even though it's by far the film's most dramatic segment; the performances that follow — including a charming duet between father-and-son pianists Bebo and Chucho Valdes — feel a little anticlimactic. Still, that's pretty minor as complaints go. This is one of the most infectiously joyous celebrations of musicmaking ever committed to film. See it and be ennobled. leave a comment --Steve Simels
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