Mateo is not a film about one man’s road to stardom (though he does find some success). Rather, it’s an unflinching portrait of an eccentric American who is determined to make it big as a Spanish singer. To make things more complicated, he will only record music in Cuba with Cuban musicians.
It doesn’t take long for most of Mateo’s eccentricities to be laid bare. The first time he speaks in front of the camera, we see that he lives in a cluttered and messy home, which he admits isn’t conducive to writing music but he puts up with because of cheap rent. Throughout the film, he is seen carrying a case of apple juice.
When he was younger, Mateo committed several robberies and wound up in jail for it. While in prison, he learned Spanish thanks to his fellow inmates, and was hypnotized by Spanish music. Now he wants to record his latest album, called A History of Cuba. It will take him years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete.
After some scenes in Los Angeles, where he performs in a Mexican restaurant, he takes his first trip to Cuba, where his seemingly polite exterior crumbles away and we see that he’s not in the country just to work on his music.
As it turns out, Mateo is often out at night looking for prostitutes. This doesn’t seem to be a problem at first, until an employee of the recording studio later reveals that Mateo often doesn’t have much money to pay his musicians with, because he’s spent so much of it when he’s out at night. He also seems to have a relationship with two Cuban women, one of whom he may or may not have a child with.
The middle of the film features what at first seems like a strange interjection, as we’re introduced to his mother and father. As it turns out, his family life isn’t exactly rock-solid either.
Director Aaron Naar keeps the audience deliberately close to Mateo through his frequent use of close-up shots, which makes for a more uncomfortable experience as Mateo’s true colours slowly start to show. In terms of music, the film is naturally stellar. Mateo has a stunning voice and sings beautiful Spanish love songs with nothing more than sparse guitar picking. His songs take on new life as Naar records the studio sessions, which features a huge range of musicians playing anything from strings to percussion to horns.
Mateo is everything from uncomfortable to sweet, and the film’s ambiguous ending allows viewers to pass their own judgment on whether Mateo’s obvious flaws take away from his wonderful music.
The film is now screening as part of the 2014 Hot Docs festival, taking place in Toronto from April 24-May 4.
