Narcissus Off Duty

On 13 December 1968, Brazil’s military rulers enacted the AI-5 decree, a law allowing the arrest of “suspects” without any form of legal process. Two weeks later, plain-clothes police officers arrested and jailed 26-year-old singer-composer Caetano Veloso. He spent several months in isolation, not knowing whether he would ever see the light of day again. Today, the legendary musician talks about the experience in a film where we meet him in a minimalist setting, making his detailed memories of the dark months stand out even stronger. Veloso is a divine singer, but he is also a dazzling storyteller who can evoke images with few words. The result is a captivating film which tells a deeply personal yet universal story of freedom, art and oppression under a dictatorship.