| Durval Discos | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Anna Muylaert |
| Produced by | Sara Silveira Maria Ionescu |
| Written by | Anna Muylaert |
| Starring | Ary França Etty Fraser Marisa Orth Isabela Guasco Letícia Sabatella |
| Music by | André Abujamra |
| Editing by | Vânia Debs |
| Distributed by | Riofilme |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | Portuguese |
Durval Discos is a 2002 Brazilian film by Anna Muylaert shot in Pinheiros, a borough of São Paulo. The film is noticeable for its soundtrack made up of 1970s Brazilian music that reflects the protagonist's taste as he is himself a hippie, as well as André Abujamra's original score, more present in the film's second, darker half. The shift of mood from the first part to the second was advertised as life's A and B side, a reference to the film's homage to LPs.
Abujamra himself makes a small comical appearance as the character Fat Marley and Brazilian rock singer Rita Lee also has a brief cameo as an eccentric customer who forgets to take the vinyl she has just bought. Some of the records shown in the store include Caetano Veloso's white, signed 1969 album and Tim Maia's Racional, a two-volume album highly sought in Brazil due to its cult status.
In the late 90's, Durval (Ary França) is a middle aged man who owns a record store in the first floor of his overbearing mother's house (Etty Fraser). A typical hippie, Durval refuses to sell cd's despite the decline in customers. He notices his mother is not giving as much attention to cooking and house chores as she once did and suggests they hire a maid, a task which is tricky since they are only willing to pay 100 reais. A young woman (Letícia Sabatella) finally appears willing to take on the job, but disappears after one day. They soon discover that she left a little girl called Kiki and note asking them to take care of her for a couple of days. Durval and his mother become attached to Kiki, but soon discover that Kiki is actually the daughter of a wealthy family from the countryside who has been kidnapped.
Tim Maia's Immunização Racional (Que Beleza) does not appear in the soundtrack album, but is present in the film.
The song Mestre Jonas, present in the film's opening sequence, relates to the film's story through its lyrics. In the song, Jonas lives inside a whale, which acts as a protection shell. Similarly, Durval refuses to move on with the times or move out of his mother's house.