Review of Where Are You, João Gilberto?

I watched this documentary because I enjoy Joao Gilberto's music and found the synopsis intriguing. After viewing I did a little internet sleuthing and there's more known about Joao's last days than the film lets on. The filmmaker either somehow missed or chose to ignore the truth about Joao's declining health. He instead envisioned a bizarre game of recluse hide and seek, and walked around talking to people who said they routinely had phone conversations with the man while implying he was impossible to find. This was my biggest gripe with the film, not just the fantasy of it, but the implication that it's somehow okay to hunt down a reclusive person.

He also managed to meet some spectacular Brazilian musicians and only talk to them about their relationships with Joao. He could have made a really good documentary about the hay day of Bossa Nova with some of the people he spoke to.