The Italian Key Composed by Tuomas Kantelinen
Promotional Release (2011)
Rating:
6/10
“...the quality is
pleasurably consistent throughout the entire album.”
The Italian Violin
Review by Helen San
THE ITALIAN KEY is a Finnish English-language feature film, a modern fable
about a 19 year old orphan named Cabella who is left homeless after her
caretaker, Max, dies. Her only inheritance is a key to an empty, run-down
villa, located in a town in Italy called Cabella, of all things. With
nowhere else to go, it only feels like destiny to move to the villa in a
town she was named after. She makes new friends and finds the truth about
her parents, her family, and her past. The picture was filmed on location
in the UK, Italy, and India.
In the period before theatrical release, THE ITALIAN KEY has already won
several minor film festival awards, including the Las Vegas Film Festival ,
Honolulu Film Awards, and Feel Good Film Awards (Best Feel Good Feature
Film). What is more relevant to this review is that THE ITALIAN KEY score
by composer TUOMAS KANTELINEN also won the top honor (Outstanding
Achievement) at the 2011 Park City Film Music Festival for both the
director's and audience choices.
This movie is about finding hope despite loneliness, finding family despite
loss, and finding love despite time. It is about finding your dreams and
heart's desires if you don't give up. The score, then, is about pulling
heartstrings, complete with nostalgic violins, pain-laden piano, and track
titles like "Mother's Tears." When you think of a soundtrack to a sob story
(homeless orphan, anyone?), you can almost see a violin section magically
spring up behind the storyteller. THE ITALIAN KEY would be that soundtrack.
Most of the music tends to vacillate between affettuoso (with emotion) and
lacrimoso (with tears). But it is a feel good movie after all, so the score
thankfully also carries an infusion of hope and yearning, repeated just
often enough to make it interesting.
This is one of those scores is infinitely much stronger on screen than on
CD, and much stronger for those who have seen the film than who haven't.
With as many as 10 different character-based themes, it is hard to tell
them apart without the memory of who these characters are. Outside of the
film's context , the many leitmotifs blend into each other anonymously and
can sound like amorphous sad music. I am reminded of how I felt about HANS
ZIMMER's INCEPTION or MARK KNOPFLER's PRINCESS BRIDE before and after I saw
the films. Certain scores require the emotional attachment to the story to
give the nuances definition. THE ITALIAN KEY is one of them. If you'll
humor a little nitpicking, it doesn't help that the tracks were listed in
alphabetical order, instead of in order of appearance in the film. This
makes it extra hard to put the listening experience in context of the
story.
KANTELINEN's overall style makes me think a little of ROLFE KENT, a little
of RACHEL PORTMAN, and sometimes, even a little bit of DEBBIE WISEMAN. He
likes intimate, character driven themes, with lush (sometimes sweeping)
strings punctuated by melodic percussions or the occasional oboe. There are
at least ten themes related to characters: Alexander, Angelo, Cabella,
Chiara, Fabian, Ghost Boy, Lord Jai, Max, Mother, and Twins (yes,
alphabetical order). Out of these, Ghost Boy (17) stands out as probably
the strongest and most expressive on the soundtrack, starting with a
symphony of strings and woodwinds and ending quietly with a mallet
instrument harmony. Alexander's Piano (1) comes in a close second, a
beautifully performed, grand, patriarchal, and stately piano piece.
Incidentally, Alexander's Piano Variation (2) is not really a variation,
but a supplemental cue with mostly bass strings and not a lot of piano,
softly accompanying a scene when Alexander first appears. Chiara sounds
like the saddest character in the film, and is presented in two versions,
"softer" and "variation." Chiara's Theme Variation (10) is sharper and more
poignant than Chiara's Theme Softer (9). The themes for Ghost Boy and
Chiara are the most recurrent ones.
The other characters have a more unique and singular presence on the
soundtrack. Lord Jai (23) takes you to exotic India, with a majestic
presence of Indian instruments and vocals. Twins (32) breaks the mournful
pace with comedic, syncopated PORTMAN-esque strings. Fabian (15), a more
introspective theme, starts with tentative woodwinds and pizzicato,
followed immediately by Fabian 2 (16) into a rushing string finale.
Angelo's Goodbye (3) feels like a hug from a cup of hot chocolate, a
memorable, warm, and affectionate string motif. The theme for Max (24) is
back to the mournful and sounds exactly like what it is supposed to be, a
dignified homage to a beloved surrogate parent. Mother's Tears (25),
otherwise known as heartache-in-a-bottle, simply just makes you want to
cry. (If it doesn't make you at least *think* about tearing up, you might
want to seek medical attention.) Cabella's theme (8) was the only one that
I felt was somewhat nondescript, just more of the same set of sad strings
and piano.
Outside of character motifs, the album has several other noteworthy cues.
Arriving at the House (4) captures wonder, spookiness, and apprehension
perfectly, blending in that Ghost Boy theme I like so much. Daydream
Swimming (12) introduced a repetitive, lilting motif that makes me think of
dolphins roaming around aimlessly in a documentary. A similar style is
heard in both Prologue (24) and Epilogue (13). I'm not particularly fond of
it, but Prologue develops the theme passionately enough that it makes a
much, much better listen. Prologue also has an especially determined piano
theme at the end that I wish there were more of in the score. The rest of
the cues, such as How Do You Mend a Broken Heart? (19) or In This Life
(20), tends to become indistinguishable in the vast pool of pensive,
wistful strings.
Playfulness and small bits of happiness are also an important part of the
album, providing a much needed contrast to the melodrama. Comedy is central
in Ballet Scene (5), Sister's Pizzicato (27), and Three Sisters (31).
Cooking and Gossiping (11) introduces a fun, frisky theme that is heard
again in Tea Time (30). Happy Girls in Sunny Italy (18) surprises us with a
tenor banjo and accordion in a folksy Italian waltz. Vespa Drive (33)
offers brief exhilaration in the album, the second cue featuring a
PORTMAN-like style.
In summary, I had a vastly different listening experience before and after
I saw the film. Beforehand, while none of the tracks struck me as
outstanding (nothing screamed out five stars), the quality was pleasurably
consistent throughout the entire album. As heard on screen, the score was
absolutely stellar, easily earning a 9 out of 10. This review and its
rating is of the soundtrack alone. Be sure to see the film to hear the
score the way it was meant to be heard.
