Gilberto Gil Viramundo
01 Aug, 2013
READ IN ENGLISH BELOW / LEIA EM PORTUGUÊS
By Fernanda Franco
Translation by Harriet Batey
Sou viramundo virado – With this song’s chorus flagship documentary by Swiss director Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, Gilberto Gil summarises his career as a political and cultural ambassador, making a socio-philosophical and folkloric reflection on his own origins, achievements, dreams and determination in reaffirming the importance of preserving cultural identity of all people and their tradition. In his case, this particularly comes from his music. Within the film, the Bahian singer searches his musical origins in Brazil, Africa and Australia.
The documentary also shows music from indigenous communities, which face a constant struggle for survival in the new, modern, digital era. Within his visits to poor communities, alongside some local personalities Gilberto Gil discusses the problem of ‘racialisation’ of people, making reference to ‘the need to escape a certain discourse that characterised Manichean struggle of the past’. In his visits in Brazil, mainly he looks at and verifies the situation of ‘cultural points’, a project which he intiated during his ministry time, taking technology and culture to isolated and marginalised groups within society.
The film begins with the singer arriving in his birth place, Salvador in Bahia, a region which he claims to have overcome the problem by similar and consistent events such as Carnaval, Candomblé and the strong musical expression found in the area.
During his visit to Sydney, however, Gil chats with fellow musician and politician Peter Garret (formally of Midnight Oil) and they discuss artist’s important role in relation to the political-cultural dimension of all people and all music / art form as a means to transform and transcend cultures via freedom of expression. The Brazilian singer spends time playing along with a young Aborigine rapper, the song Beds are burning – a political piece which became a hit, talks about the rights of the native Australian Pintupis (one of the last tribes coming from the desert) in having their land back.
Esthetically, the documentary shows realistic images, with long ‘takes’ of natural scenery focusing on the four natural elements (water, earth, fire and air) which are represented by orixás, African gods, and their archetypes which are related to demonstrations of these natural forces. In this scenario, Gil is symbolised as Xangô, god of fire, as much the descendents of Bantu as descendents of the Aborigines.
In the film, Christianisation and Westernisation are topics discussed by the Australian Aborigine Patrick Dodson who emphasises that ‘There was never any recognition of our unique culture.’ Gil reacts saying: ‘In my country, where blacks were brought over as slaves, they suffered and were humiliated and seperated and subject to all the bad things you can imagine. Time has passed and things have changed. Now we have a black minister’.
But one of the most exciting parts to the film is Gil’s meeting with South African activisit Vusi Mahlasela, where they perform a duet of Tempo Rei and Vusi explains the Zulu concept of ‘ubuntu’ as ‘a person is a person because of others’ and ends singing Say Africa. Returning to Brazil, the odyssey ends in the strongly indigenous town of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, where local Sabrina Santos emphasises her pride in being indigenous and sings a version of A Raça Humana in the Tucano language.
Gilberto Gil makes this journey through the Southern Continent in search of musical origins. The music within the film works as a character which interconnects all the people from all the visited places, where, regardless of their skin colour or differing customs, possess a unique common language, music. Gilberto pierces cultural, political, social and religious barriers, experiencing a little of each people everywhere he goes.
A respected and admired artist, Gilberto Gil was a political activisit in his youth, fighting against the dicatorship, being convicted because of his music, he was arrested and exiled but never gave up. His tireless struggle led him to become Minister for Culture in Brazil, resulting, he confesses, in changes.
The documentary Viramundo is a cultural and anthropological experience. With a truthful cinema style, movement in recording, informality, casual and realistic situations, slow and improvised dialogue, the result is simple, a framed portrait of a musician who loves his people, and whose heart beats for the oppressed.
The film will be released in London on 26th July, at the Barbican. The DVD will be in stores from 5th August.
