
Loosely structured, Heart essentially follows Veloso during the American media campaign for his first English language album, and his subsequent tour of Japan, where he seems to have remarkably photogenic fans. As a result, the audience gets to hear some of his renditions of American popular song (like the Berlin standard “Blue Skies”) in addition to his traditional favorites.
Veloso’s fans know him as a charismatic performer, but they might be surprised how funny he is in private. Sometimes he even cracks himself up, as when he tells a Lady Di anecdote that is incomprehensible due to his giggling. Still, the music heard throughout Heart is of the consistent high quality his listeners will expect.
While Andrade by-and-large paints a portrait of an artist living the good life, late in the film he includes Veloso’s oblique references to his personal tragedies, which add considerable context to the musician’s apparent happy-go-lucky attitude. Ultimately, Veloso emerges as a genuinely likable individual, joking with fans and laughing off criticism, secure in his estimable place in the Brazilian music scene.
Though Heart’s running time barely exceeds one hour, Andrade uses nearly every second. Viewers should b

Heart is an entertaining profile of Veloso that should please longtime fans and intrigue new listeners. Refreshingly, he comes across like a person who would be fun to hang with—youthful in his sixty-six years, despite his arrest and period of exile during the years of the military regime. It should be a crowd pleaser this Wednesday (9/23), when it kicks-off Janeiro in New York.