Rating: NNNN
CALLE 54 (Fernando Trueba) won the audience prize at the Miami Film Festival, which is hardly surprising given that festival’s fondness for films involving Latin jazz. Oscar-winning director Trueba (Belle Epoque) gathered such legendary Latin musicians as Tito Puente — just prior to his death — Gato Barbieri, Chucho Valdés and Chico O’Farrill and let them play in stark, elegant studio settings. You could complain about a certain lack of context for the music. On the other hand, if Trueba doesn’t burden the film with history, neither does he go the Wim Wenders route of cutting into every single number for interviews. Tremendous sound, and if one is looking for a conversion event for this infectious music, it’s difficult to imagine a more likely one. 105 minutes. NNNN