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“John Tavener's Fragments of a Prayer as well as
his other pieces included on this CD are all frightfully beautiful.
Upon first listen they may come off as just another thin, minimalist
piece, but upon successive listens they become nothing short of
captivating.”
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Out of the Greyness,
A Ray of Hope
Review by Christopher
Coleman
CHILDREN OF MEN was
one of 2006 most
intriguing films.
Alfonso Cuaron's
dystopian film set
around the year 2027,
is a gritty and brutal
tale about the state
of the world after
nearly two decades
with no children being
born. [This grittiness
is truly realized in
the recent HD-DVD
release of the film].
So what would the
world be like in such
a scenario? Well,
according to Cuaron,
not too good. With the
loss of children in
the world, there is a
loss of hope and
eventually an almost
complete breakdown of
western society.
CHILDREN OF MEN
follows the journey of
a man who is
contracted to help
escort, what turns out
to be, the first
pregnant woman in 20
years, to a group that
will provide sanctuary
for her and her child.
The movie is full of
countless religious
symbols and references
to contemporary images
taken from the most
recent of news
headlines. This
rough-roadie is
presented in a
live-on-the-frontlines-reporter-style
(cinéma vérité), which
makes the film as
viscerally engaging as
they come. Cuaron's
choice here is clearly
an effective one, but
since we don't find
much music
accompanying, say,
CNN's Anderson Cooper
reporting from
Sarajevo or Christiane
Amanpour reporting
from Iraq, it might be
expected that there
wouldn't be any score
at all in a film like
this. That is pretty
close to the truth.
According to the liner
notes, as Cuaron and
Tim Sexton wrote the
screenplay, they had
the works of John
Tavener playing for
inspiration. In the
end, it became only
natural to contact
Tavener in regards to
their new film's
score. Never having
composed music for
film before, JOHN
TAVENER did agree to
write a 15 minute
piece from which the
director could make
selections. So, you
ask, if there is only
fifteen minutes of
score used in the
entire 109 minute
film? No matter
the actual amount, it
certainly feels
like much less than 15
minutes-worth.
In saying that, I'm
excluding all of the
source music used
throughout the film.
These make their way
onto a completely
separate
soundtrack release.
The moments where the
Tavener's score really
asserts itself are
few; however when your
ears might take the
most notice it will
likely be the
hypnotic, mezzo-sopranic
voice of Sarah
Connelly. Her
voice rises out of the
greyness of any given
scene, casting the
slightest ray of hope,
before being swallowed
again by the fog the
film's chaotic
journey.
Another moment when
the music makes a
clear move to the
forefront comes
towards the conclusion
of the film.
While our futuristic
"Mary and Joseph" are
lead through the
streets in their
ongoing-escape
attempt; instead of
patented-chase-music, Kryzysztof
Penderecki's "Threnody
for the Victims of
Hiroshima" (5)
wrenches its way onto
the film's soundtrack.
It appears for just a
few seconds and then
seems to dive just
below the surface,
beneath all of the
incredible sound
editing. The
piece simply becomes a
part of audio-tapestry
of the next 5 to 10
minutes of film.
Appearing as track 5,
the dissonance in Penderecki's piece is
nothing short of gut
and ear-wrenching,
which was his original
intent and why he
eventually dedicated
his completed piece to
the victims of
Hiroshima atomic bomb.
It is as disconcerting
as it is complex and
almost impossible to
listen to in its
entirety.
CHILDREN OF MEN leaves
plenty of room for
discussion but appears
to provide a some hope
for mankind as mother
and child appear to
reach their
destination.
Tavener's "Fragments
of a Prayer," subtly
return to underscore
the final few minutes
of the film.
Similarly, this
soundtrack returns to
a more hopeful tone
with Tavener's "Song
of the Angel" (6)
where the senses are
somewhat soothed by
the lead violin of Ulf
Hoelscher and soprano
vocals of Susan
Narucki. The
following three tracks
continue the motif of
guarded hope ending
the listening
experience in the
manner of a sobering
benediction.
In the end, CHILDREN
OF MEN is a difficult
soundtrack to rate.
This is the type of
film where I have to
wonder if any score
was necessary at all.
There is a strange
feeling, an
uneasiness, that runs
from start to finish
in this movie, which
in other cases would
be credited, at least
in part, to a
film's score. In
this case; however,
that ambient or
subliminal emotion
seems to be generated
by the specific
combination of the
writing, acting, and
visual style. If you
see the film and
afterwards listen to
the soundtrack, you
will no doubt
experience some of
that "uneasiness" once
again. That being
said, John Tavener's
Fragments of a Prayer
as well as his other
pieces included on
this CD are all
frightfully beautiful.
Upon first listen they
may come off as just
another thin,
minimalist piece, but
upon successive
listens they become
nothing short of
captivating.
Rating:
7/10
|
Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
Fragments of a
Prayer |
15:21 |
**** |
|
2 |
Eternity's
Sunrise |
10:53 |
**** |
|
3 |
Alexander's
Feast/
War, He
Sun, Is
Toil and
Trouble
(G. F.
Handel) |
4:44 |
** |
|
4 |
Kindertotenlieder/Nun
Will
Die
Sonn'
So
Hell
Aufgeh'n
(Mahler) |
5:31 |
*** |
|
5 |
Threnody
for
the
Victims
of
Hiroshima
(Kryzysztof
Penderecki) |
9:59 |
** |
| 6 |
Song of the Angel |
4:35 |
*** |
| 7 |
The Lamb |
3:20 |
*** |
| 8 |
Mother and Child |
12:38 |
**** |
| 9 |
Mother of God, Here I Stand |
3:28 |
**** |
| |
Total Running Time (approx) |
70 minutes |
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