Thanks goes to Jessica Stan for sending this in for review.
This soundtrack to the 2003 picture is… very short. Sadly, not only is it around 26 minutes long, but it also feels mildly repetitive. This is because the soundtrack is actually broken into two different artists. Four of the tracks belong to Michiru Oshima, while the other four are credited to experimental French singer Brigitte Fontaine. Oshima remains consistent here, but her contribution to the CD is short at only around nine minutes of music. In contrast, Fontaine has around 17 minutes, and here is where the repetition is found.
First, let’s look at Oshima’s work. These tracks strike a more majestic tone, similar to her score for Bizan: The Mountain of Mother's Love (2007). The best of these is “Cherry Blossom Season”, which features sweeping string work supported by a light piano melody, creating an enchanting theme. “Dear Mother” is probably runner up, featuring great string work but for this track the piano work takes more center stage. “Sad Women” is similar in tone, emphasizing the piano work although it is a bit more subdued. Finally we have “Four Love Stories”, which is a pleasant piano solo, something that stands out amongst Oshima’s work for that reason.
Now let’s move on to the music for Fontaine. These four tracks all align to the song “Comme à la radio”, which is not just the name of the song but also her 1969 album. To start with the song itself, which is the ending theme here, is very, very experimental. The basic beat is trumpet work and drums, while there are awkward whisper-like lyrics in French. Occasionally the lyrics are done rhythmically, but more often than not they sound like Fontaine is just talking ala slam poetry. The instrumentation of this song is also very experimental. The worst part, and I will be blunt in that terminology, is around 4:15 to 5:15 where a ton of instruments start blaring, like someone recorded and overlaid two bands practicing. At eight minutes long, this track feels like it goes on and on too. Suffice to say, some might find it interesting, and given Fontaine’s popularity it’s safe to say many do, but I found it a misfire.
For the other three Fontaine tracks, they are all instrumental versions of “Comme à la radio”. While the song is derived directly from the 1969 album, I can’t tell if these three instrumental tracks are new or were also culled from another source. I’ll guess they are new, though. Honestly, the tune for the song works well as an instrumental beat, and wisely it avoids the music “blare” moment heard in the main song. It does not gel at all with Oshima’s music, but makes for a nice tune if not sounding a bit comedical. The problem, though, is that it’s repeated three times on a 29 minute CD, making the tune outstay its welcome.
Bottom line, this is a hard soundtrack to rate. Oshima is consistent here, and her music would rate probably a 3.5/5… but her material on this disc is so short at being just nine minutes. For a CD this brisk in runtime, it really needed to fire on all cylinders, but the fact that the majority of the music ranges from decent to “eh” makes this very hard to recommend. |
