This early entry in Anna Muylaert's film career (her official film debut) is a surprising and rare collection of images about the rock movement from groups from the
state of São Paulo, Brazil with the performances from groups such as Titãs, Ira!, Mercenárias and RPM, all very popular in the Brazilian rock scene. Muylaert captures
brief moments of their act during the Hollywood Rock of 1988 (an important music festival that happened in the 1980's and 1990's sponsored by the cigarette brand) and there's also brief interviews with some of the band members and rock n'roll fans who talk about their
opinions about rock and why the genre attracts them so much.
I discovered this short documentary in a quite accidental way and was quite surprised that it didn't have a page here for quite some time. The film, although very
interesting to watch thanks to the rare material presented and the groups involved (the crazed and hypnotic performance of "Polícia" by Titãs is amazing) isn't so much
appealing to some due to its poor quality - the sound is terrible and the images are quite grained. We definitely a new version, some remastering of the original material
because I believe the 1980's generation will love to see this movie in its full potential (also the fact there there's no credits in the movie, there's a huge cut towards the
conclusion so the information that appears in the website is related to what we can actually see and the movie's register at the Cinemateca Brasileira).
But I was fascinated in seeing a nostalgic moment from the city I live and the musical movement of the moment still strong and effective, capturing the eyes and ears
of people back then, and those people whenever they make personal comments on videos of the period and talking the music and arts they always have great memories to share
about how great things were back in the day. Can't say the same about the current state of music of this generation I'm currently living. "Rock Paulista" is a real must-see
short film for rock n'roll fans who appreciate 1980's music. 8/10.