Stuff You Gotta Watch: Perpetual Movements: A Tribute to Carlos Paredes
The Portuguese guitar is a curious instrument. Usually associated with fado, its origins actually go all the way back to the medieval troubadours and noble circles—though a need for bringing the instrument closer to the masses eventually allowed for its association with tavern music.
Carlos Paredes comes from a long lineage of virtuosity and passion. Both his grandfather and father were Portuguese guitar masters. By the time Paredes composed the legendary soundtrack to 1963 film Os Verdes Anos, he enjoyed a reputation in his home country and abroad—despite his numerous brushes with the law.
Edgar Pêra's Perpetual Movements pays tribute to Carlos Paredes’s legacy in a singular way. Put together as a poetic dialog between the Portuguese guitar and a Super 8 camera, the film is a mix of documentary and visual essay that relies on bits of archival footage and loose testimonies to tell the story of the musician's life and artistry. Employing a touch of mysticism and the untranslatable feeling of "saudade," Perpetual Movements is a fitting homage to Paredes while also standing as a work of art in and of itself.
Review by Ana Leorne. Check out the full archive of the Stuff You Gotta Watch column.