Bossa Nova

Recalling late period films from Francois Truffaut and American 1930s screwball comedies, Bruno Barreto directs this elegant romantic comedy set in Brazil. Mary Ann Simpson is a middle-aged American widow teaching English in Rio de Janeiro. Since her pilot husband died two years previously, Mary Ann has more or less dispensed with any ideas of a second chance at love. When one of her nubile young students mentions that she found her perfect match, Mary Ann insists that one can only meet Mr. Right in the flesh. Later, she shares an elevator with suave attorney Pedro Paulo, who is in the throes of a painful transition after his wife Tania dumped him for a tai chi instructor. Pedro is struck by Mary Ann immediately, and he decides to sign up for one of her classes even though he is thoroughly fluent in English. Meanwhile, soccer ace Acacio is struggling through Mary Ann's language classes in order to play for a UK team. The good-looking athlete flirts with his teacher for a while, complicating things for Pedro Paulo.

The film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for Best Cinema Release, Best Director and Best Music awards at the 2001 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize.

Cast:
Amy Irving (Mary Ann Simpson)
Antônio Fagundes (Pedro Paulo)
Alexandre Borges (Acácio)
Débora Bloch (Tânia)

Director: Bruno Barreto
Writer: Alexandre Machado, Sérgio Sant'Anna
Runtime: 95 min
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama
Language: Portuguese, English, French, Spanish
Production Year: 2000

The screening is part of the 9th Brazilian Film Festival