BRAZIL V COLOMBIA
Guest referee:
Joel Freeman — Pop Music Social Media Manager and writer
Theme tune to Barriga de Aluguel
“Brazilian telenovela Barriga De Aluguel — which translates loosely, and somewhat alarmingly, to 'Belly Rent' — was short-lived, yet posed vital questions about surrogacy and custodial rights while gripping Brazil in the early 90s. It also asked other pertinent, unanswerable questions, namely 'Why 'Belly Rent’?' and "What happens if my boiler breaks down and I need to be out of the house when the repairman comes three weeks later?" By any rate, if the opening credits (full of comically planetesque pregnancy bellies looming in and out of shot to the soundtrack of José Augusto’s ‘Aguenta Coração’) are anything to go by, Barriga De Aluguel wins points for sheer visual absurdity, but it still falls short of capturing the sheer insanity of the subject matter.”
Theme tune to Café com Aroma de Mulher
“Colombia’s entry Café, com Aroma de Mulher is another masterclass in hilariously shoddy translation (this time: ‘Coffee, With The Smell Of A Woman’). Though suggesting a heady romance brewing between a pair of Nescafé Gold Blend-swilling Colombian lovers, the reality of Café… was slightly more grim, as one storyline alone covered human trafficking, pregnancy and prostitution all at once (!). Ultimately, music is the real winner here, and Café, con Aroma de Mujer’s slightly jauntier soundtrack and terrifying cross-stitch-themed title sequence just edges out its new age Brazilian counterpart, if only through terrifying the living shit out of the viewer."
Joel's full time score:
Brazil 0 — Colombia 1
Now you can vote for your own favourite.
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