AllMovie

Filmmaker Paul Thiago presents this portrait of classical musician Mozart Vieira, who formed the Children's Orchestra of São Caetano in 1978 in an effort to get poor children in Brazil interested in music. Over the course of the next few decades, the group gained in popularity by performing at local churches and gatherings. Vieira's foundation, Fundação Música e Vida, however, ran into trouble in 1995, when a child who was living with the musician and his family was abducted and brutalized. In the aftermath of reporting the troubling event to police, Vieira was charged with child abuse and falsifying his report. Fortunately for Vieira and the many children he has helped to discover the magic of music, a support system comprised of respected musicians and religious leaders came to his defense, and his institute was later reopened.