Composer Simone Cilio scored -M – Sono Solo un Ragazzo, (I am only a Boy) back in 2018, Giorgio is in his first year of high school and feels inadequate, like all boys of his age. But there is Cristina, she is not afraid to show him her feelings. One day at his home, in a secret hiding place, he finds old Nazi documents with an encrypted text, dated 1943. But something strange and inexplicable happens to Giorgio at night.
The plot includes a trio of thugs that bully Giorgio, a rich antiquarian prince and his shady accomplice, Giorgio’s mother Sabrina and Matteo who buzzes around her, all elements and characters that all fall in place to build an adventure that will lead Giorgio and Cristina to discover events which are rooted in the Jewish persecution of WWll.
At last the atmospheric score from the movie is being issued by Plaza Mayor, this is a beautiful work, filled with wonderfully transfixing melodies and themes, which also contains dark, sinister, and apprehensive sounding colours and textures. However, in the main I was delighted with the amount of emotive and affecting melodies and thematic properties it contained, it is an electronically realised work, but on listening one would think maybe it is symphonic or at least partly. I love the way in which the composer evokes the sound often achieved by Morricone with lilting and adagio like strings setting the scene in the opening cue M.
Which is a style that he expands upon and develops in track two, You Have to go Now. The strings building and swelling to create a highly emotional piece. The same can be said for Come Here track three on the release, strings again make a subdued but effective statement before fading into the background to underline a poignant piano performance with is delicate and fragile, the strings then return to the opening statement but this time it is more pronounced and powerful, before the cue fades again momentarily before a more dramatic and robust interlude begins to usher its way in. The cue draws to an end with the subtle piano and then a sudden stab of sorts with brass adding an ominous touch. Another Me track four is a swirling and driving piece, which starts slow but soon builds and gains pace, the composer fashioning a tense and on the edge composition, which again tails off to introduce the calming but slightly unnerving piano. Track five They Want it, again utilises the piano motif of four notes to introduce the cue, but this alters to a more anxious style, the composition becoming an uneasy but effective piece. The remainder of the score is a mix of light and dark, shadowy motifs filtering their way into the score as the composer cleverly creates layers of tension and apprehension,
I did feel at one point that there were certain similarities to that of the work of Jerry Goldsmith, on scores such as Basic Instinct and The Russia House. A certain steamy and sensual mood being conveyed. There are some upbeat percussive fuelled cues also, which evoked for me the style of Mark Mancina’s Speed score. The composer fuses string performances with percussive components bringing to fruition a sound that is mesmerising and impressive, as in its an action cue but it has melodic content and an imposing persona. I must add that there are also several cues that are proud and almost anthem like in their make-up, as in I Can Use Him. And this is a style that manifests itself over and over in Are you Real, track number seven, and track eight I Want the Name. But it is the emotive and richly tender cues that stand out here, The Diary which is the end music for the movie is just so emotional and has to it a lush and affecting sound. This is a score I recommend that you take a listen to it will be released on digital platforms and onto Compact Disc by Plaza Mayor in July.
Another score penned by Simone Cilio worth taking a listen to is also coming soon, Lockdown is a 2022 movie, in which we see chaos and disruption in Los Angeles when three criminals, led by a psychotic mastermind named McMasters, takes over a police station and threatens to kill everyone in it unless a large ransom is paid. FBI special agent Roger Kinkaid (Michael Pare’) uses his extensive knowledge in a bid to outwit the criminals and save the hostages, but one question remains: even if they get their money, how can they possibly escape? It’s a rollercoaster of a movie which has one on the edge of one’s seat from start to finish, and a lot of the excitement and the tension is given even greater impact by the powerful and tension riddle score. Again, realised electronically this is a powerhouse of a soundtrack, and one that just does let up, keeping pace with the action and at times setting the pace of the narrative, the composer underlining, punctuating, and giving depth and atmosphere to the taught and relentless storyline. Think Hans Zimmer, meets Silvestri, Goldsmith and Newton Howard and there you have it, a score well worth taking a listen to. There are of course several less driving moments within the score which are effective and thematic. But its dark and brooding persona shines through and dominates. Coming on CD and to digital platforms on May 17th via Plaza Mayor.
Also coming in July is the brilliant soundtrack for Werewolf Castle, this is a score I have admired ever since I first heard a few tracks from it, it is proud and epic sounding, the composer giving the work a robust and vibrant sound via brass and strings, with percussive and choral elements also bolstering the proceedings, this is something of a relentless sounding work as in there are so many themes and also it is powerful and drives forward at pace. Also to be released on digital and CD by Plaza Mayor. Recommended.
The composer’s soundtrack for Adrenaline was released recently on digital platforms, and a compact disc will be available from Plaza Mayor. The film was released in 2023. Directed by Massimiliano Cerchi, this tense and gritty crime drama tells the story of a female FBI agent holidaying in Eastern Europe with her family who gets her life turned upside down when her daughter is kidnapped.
She must team up with a criminal on the run to save her daughter before time runs out. The score is a tense affair of building compositions, that add atmospherics and punctuation to the proceedings, but still the composer develops thematic properties throughout, the score creating an edgy mood for the increasingly nerve-wracking storyline, the percussive parts of the score are inventive and effective, it is well worth a listen. Check out digital platforms for other soundtracks by Simone Cilio such as A Werewolf in England, Active Shooter, Penthouse, Boshi-Cavar Carbone, and his haunting music for Their War. And single cues from soundtracks such as Robin Hood the Rebellion, Skin creepers and Devil 13.
MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . 