In this look at a handful of release we go back to latter part of 2019, and also to releases from this year also. As already stated, there are so many soundtracks being released it is at times hard to keep abreast of everything that the recording labels put out. So, in this SOUNDTRACK SUPPLEMENT we begin with a movie that was released in 2019.
DVESELU PUTENIS or BLIZZARD OF SOULS. The film is a Latvian produced historical drama that is set during WW1. Directed by Dzintars Dreibergs, it is a compelling and emotive tale that focuses upon a sixteen-year-old boy named Arturs, who after loosing his Mother decides to join the Imperial Russian Army. His hope is that he will find glory in the army, he fights during the Great War of 1914-1918 in which he loses his Father and his Brother, and soon becomes disenchanted and disillusioned. So, returns to his newly formed country Latvia where he has to start again. The movie which is an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Aleksandrs Grins, which he wrote whilst in the trenches and on active service as a Latvian Rifleman during WW1. A book that was forbidden to be published in Russia. It was the most anticipated film to be released in Latvia in over a hundred years and was made in honour of the ten European countries that were celebrating the Centenary of the end of World War One. It had the largest budget ever given to a Baltic feature film. It is a emotion filled motion picture that says it how it was, as it happened without reservation, and shows the fight that the Latvian nation undertook to gain its own Sovereignty. Sometimes stark and action filled, it is an honest and affecting piece of cinema. The musical score which aids greatly the movie is the work of composer, Lolita Ritmanis. This is a soundtrack that is literally overflowing with absorbing and mesmerising themes, that are filled with Poignancy, Pride and Patriotism. Fully symphonic, the composer has penned a work that is emotive and dramatic. The carefully crafted themes adding another dimension to the film’s storyline and varying scenarios. Its one of those scores that one begins to play and before you realise it it has finished, this is not because it is a short score or indeed that you are not concentrating upon it, it is because the quality of the music and the wonderful sound and style that is present is all consuming, and as you know they do say time flies when you are having fun,. It is filled with tantalising and affectual thematic properties, with the composer utilising Soprano and choir at times, which brings another dimension to the proceedings, adding a more human or intimate touch to the work. It has to it a haunting and lilting quality, with half heard voices at times being brought into the equation, cello too is used which adds the correct amount of melancholy adding depth and a sense of loneliness. I have to say I love this score, and I hope that you will also. Seek it out, buy it and enjoy it.
Onto HEAVEN QUEST-A PILGRIMS PROGRESS, released in 2020, this is an interesting production, the films plot centres around a man of Royal blood, Vangel who is forced upon a journey that he does not wish to embark upon after he is set about and without warning arrested by the Kings guards. He manages to escape his captors but is injured and becomes lost. It is at this time he begins to have visions and dreams of a woman dressed in white who is beckoning him to go North to an unknown territory. He is given a tome called THE RECORD OF THE ANCIENTS by a wise man. Vangel then sets off on his quest to find the mysterious woman, crossing deserts, climbing mountains and entering the forbidding Forest of no return and a lake called The Lake of Doubts. As he makes his journey Vangel learns of a good King and his Son who reside in the North, but he must first endure the various trials of his adventure and attempt to remain alive if possible. Music is courtesy of composer Johnathan Beard, the score is an inventive one and has to it certain attributes and styles that can be affiliated with the sound of composers such as Jerry Goldsmith and maybe Basil poledouris, pounding percussion, striving strings and bold sounding brass are the foundation of the score. It is an action score no doubt about that, but it also has to it a richness and melodic side, in which the composer combines the proud brass and luxurious string sections to great effect. The score is a balanced one as in it has an equal amount of the dramatic and the romantic. A truly full-blooded adventure score, with the music taking a leading role in the tempestuous quest of Vangel. Accompanying him, supporting him and also taking his side in the many fights and action set pieces through its duration, recommended if you like a sense of adventure and a score that is theme laden and driving.
The story of LASSIE has adorned our screens at both the cinema and television for many years, it is a story that warms the heart and also has the ability to break it, a story that we as cinema goers never seem to tire of or at least if we do we never say, and we return each time with each new adventure to have our hearts broken every time. LASSIE-AN ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY is the latest incarnation of the lovable canine to hit our screens, a new classic for a new generation, says the poster, and yes, I can well believe it. On this occasion a family in financial difficulties are forced to sell their dog to help pay for food. The film which is a German production is based upon LASSIE COME HOME, (here take this tissue). Directed by Hanno Olderdissen, the movie has a delightful score by composer Enis Rotthoff, who has written a highly melodic soundtrack that touches all the right emotional spots and adds just the right amount of melancholy and dramatic sounds to the proceedings. As a score it works great in the movie, and it also has a life of its own away from the images it was intended to enhance. Even listening to it away from the movie and just knowing that LASSIE is involved at times makes one feel a lump in the throat and the emotions rising. It’s an entertaining work, that for me anyway evoked the sounds and also the fragility of past movies which had an animal lead as in OLD YELLER, THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY and even MARLEY AND ME, the music is filled with emotion and creates a poignant and lasting atmosphere, evoking the style of composers such as Rachel Portman, James Horner and Bruce Broughton. Also try and check out another of the composers scores, AS GREEN AS IT GETS from 2018. Worth a listen.
Next is music from a Turkish produced movie, 7.Koğuştaki Mucize, a highly emotional watch which has a score that just lends so much to the films storyline, a delicate and fragile sounding work for a film that was said to be the best film to come out of Turkey in 2019. It is beautiful motion picture, that is deeply affecting and has a score that will invade your heart and maybe break it a little. The music is by composer Hasan Ozsut, it is an incredibly power work, that is laden with melancholy thematic material, rich and plaintive interludes adorn the soundtrack with the music rising and falling eloquently throughout supporting, enhancing and ingratiating each and every scene it is employed within. To compare it with any other score or composers work would be impossible as this music takes us beyond emotion and delivers raw emotion each time. You might do well to also check out the composers music for the movie DUST. Recommended.
All of the above are available on digital platforms as well as physical CDS. But try them online first.
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MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . 