#1: Brazil and the Art of the Soundtrack

Melomania

Welcome to Melomania, the podcast where I, Patrick Simpson, deconstruct music and what it means. In this episode, we take a look at the underappreciated art of the soundtrack. Our case study is Terry Gilliam’s cult sci-fi hit Brazil, a film in which the majority of the soundtrack only features variations on one song—Ary Barroso’s hit song “Aquarela do Brasil.” By closely examining how Gilliam intertwines plot and theme with this song, we can see just how much a soundtrack can do for a film.