Part-Gothic drama and part-Hitchcockian thriller, Stoker (2013) is a stylish and beautifully choreographed film scripted by Wentworth Miller and directed by South Korean director Park Chan-Wook. After his acclaimed Vengeance trilogy - Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), Lady Vengeance (2005) - and Thirst …
Hanan Townshend: Lacrimosa
Although the French composer is credited as the main songwriter on the official soundtrack for Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011), Alexandre Desplat's music only accounts for a fraction of the total number of tracks which actually made it into the final edit of the film. The majestic score also includes more …
Yann Tiersen: Summer 78
Directed by German film-maker Wolfgang Becker and starring Daniel Brühl (Alex) and Katrin Saß (Christiane), Goodbye Lenin! (2003) chronicles of the life of a Berlin family during the pivotal years of the German reunification in 1989-90 with a great mixture of tragedy, humour and satire. Alex’s mother Christiane accidentally …
The Great Beauty
The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza - 2013) is a visually dazzling film by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino boasting a brilliant and eclectic soundtrack ranging from electro-pop to classical choral music. The film won the 2014 Golden Globe [update: and Oscar] in the “best foreign film” category. An unexpected …
Le Rêve du Diable: Crac!
Crac! is an enchanting 15mn animated short by Frédéric Back originally released in 1981 and featuring a great collection of songs and tunes from the traditional French Canadian repertoire performed by folk group Le Rêve du Diable. Borrowing its name from a traditional reel of English/Irish origin (the devil’s dream), the band …
The Swell Season
In a scene towards the end of the musical film Once, after the recording studio session, the two fictional characters “falling slowly” in love with each other and aspiring to work together have this conversation: Guy: Come on away to London with me! We’ll write loads of songs and live in a nice flat […] We’ll have a brilliant …