Music that does not laugh alone: music and humor in the films of João César Monteiro
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/diacritica.6443Keywords:
Music and cinema, Music and humor, Pre-existing music, Portuguese cinema, João César MonteiroAbstract
This article focuses on the relationship between music and humor in the films of João César Monteiro. While the humorous nature of some of the director’s films is often acknowledged, no study has yet extensively explored the connection between comedy and music in his work. By analysing this issue, we argue that the relationship between humour and music in Monteiro’s cinema is not based on a cause-and-effect mechanism where music is the sole trigger for humour. Instead, comedy in his films emerges from a complex web of interactions among various elements, which may ultimately result in moments of laughter. In this way, serious musical elements can contribute to the comic effect of certain scenes, while comical musical elements do not necessarily translate into moments of humour. By analysing both textual and musical features, along with their pre-existing contexts and their intra-filmic environment, this article offers a new analytical perspective on how music interacts with humor throughout Monteiro’s work.
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