Synopsis
Between 1968 and 1974, the concrete pop of Os Mutantes emerged from the tropicalist bubble to settle as the Brazilian rock band, combining Beatle joy with psychedelia, avant-garde music forms and the cannibalism of local sounds. Their debacle coincided with that of Arnaldo Baptista and Rita Lee’s marriage; in the following years, the group’s singer would turn to pop, becoming a well-respected solo artist, while Arnaldo’s career went the opposite way, towards depression and failure. Rita’s absence becomes vital for Arnaldo, the main mutant songwriter, and also for this documentary, where everyone but her go over an off-balance and hallucinogenic history. It was during the 90s that people like Kurt Cobain or Sean Lennon (who also appear on the film), would help to put the band back where it deserved to belong. Baptista himself helps tell the tale through paintings made for the occasion, and although the intensity of previous times is no longer present, there is the ingenuity that made him the São Paulo equivalent of Brian Wilson.