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Bossa Nova
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 1 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Romance
Written by:
Alexandre Machado
Sérgio Sant'Anna (story)
Fernanda Young
Directed by: Bruno Barreto
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 28, 2000
DVD: December 26, 2000
Running Time: 95 minutes, Color
Origin: Brazil / USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and some sex content
Starring Amy Irving, Antonio Fagundes, and Alexandre Borges
A struggling Brazilian lawyer (Fagundes) is surrounded by failed romance. Mary Ann (Irving) is an American English teacher still recovering from the loss of her husband two years earlier. Alone and unhappy, both have nearly given up hope of finding their lifelong soul-mate. (Sony Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands View from the Top
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Not only is Bossa Nova a lovely romance, but one can say, as one can about few films, that it is restorative as a vacation.
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The story is slender, but the Brazilian settings are exquisite and lilting tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim cast a spell over the entire enterprise.
Read Full Review >Variety Joe Leydon
Imagine a '30s screwball comedy played to a sensuous Brazilian beat and you're ready for Bossa Nova, a delightfully amusing romantic roundelay.
Read Full Review >Film.com Elizabeth Weitzman
Despite the frivolous feel, it's clear the director intends for Bossa Nova to be a love letter to his two passions: Brazil and his leading lady (who's also his real-life wife). Neither lets him down.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The air smells sweet and there's a thrumming beat in Bossa Nova.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
A cheerful and stylish romantic comedy that's easy on the eyes and ears, and makes few demands on the intellect.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Isn't great. But I had fun watching.
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
A breezy, elegant charmer of a movie.
Boston Globe Jay Carr
One of the most warmly beguiling romantic comedies the Southern Hemisphere has sent our way in ages.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
The coincidences that bring some characters together and keep others apart in this romantic comedy are plotted with musical grace.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
There must be a name for a picture so inconsequential, in which the music provides so much of the chemistry that you get the feeling Bossa Nova would be funereal without it.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
May not carry great emotional or intellectual weight, but, in a slim and fetching way, it's peachy.
Miami Herald Marta Barber
Romantic comedy that softens your date into giving you that first kiss. It's not much more than that -- it's flawed and somewhat unfocused.
Newsweek Donna Freydkin
Sort of like a Jennifer Lopez video: pretty to look at, easy on the ears, but ultimately completely vacuous and lackluster.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson
Like sitting on the beach under a cozy, warm afternoon sun. The view is beautiful, but not much is happening and soon you drift peacefully to sleep.
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The city looks breathtakingly lovely, the movie's Brazilian characters are charming and filled with joie de vivre, and using excerpts would take care of the fact that the pacing's a bit sluggish for such fluffy material.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack
Does have a certain classy charm because of its upscale setting. One could wait for the video.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Tilts toward the slight and merely pleasant when it could have had much more emotional impact.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Richard T. Jameson
Bossa Nova has no beat.
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
This suffocatingly pleasant cross between "Sliding Doors" and "Six Degrees of Separation" is barely rescued by one beautiful scene.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It's a feast of inconsequentiality, though, a love affair-lite that looks great but is ultimately less filling than a sunny summer Sunday's creampuff dream.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf
Sits before us like an exquisite platter of wax fruit, colorful, flavorless, and, if you eat it, very likely to come back up.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Gustavo H.R. gave it a 7:
Gregory Weinkauf obviously hates brazilians and his review is utterly prejudiced. Bossa Nova shows a beautiful, perfect Brazil because it is a romantic comedy, not a heavy-handed drama like City Of God. And this film is actually quite entertaining.
