Sunday, July 20, 2008

Bit of a post drought today

. . .but here is a sprinkling of links to tide us over.
  • I'm excited to announce that you can listen to Mark Isham's score to Pride and Glory at Foward Musik Radio. (Just click on the picture.) Note that one of the tracks is called "Abby cries," which calls to mind Jennifer Ehle's (all too brief) appearance in the final montage of the movie's trailer.
  • Speaking of film scores, Zach Freeman has written a very intelligent review of the Before the Rains soundtrack. Here is a sample of the quotage:
    Like a mix between an Enya album and a disc of mediation music, composer Mark Kilian’s work on Before the Rains is both entertaining and relaxing. Listening to this album, it’s easy to forget that this is the score for a movie and drift away in a world of floating rhythms and gentle melodies. [...] Set in India in the 1930s, Before the Rains is a tale of ambition and loyalty, directed by acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan. To make the most of his opportunity here, Kilian traveled to India and conducted much research (and it shows). The score has a vaguely ethereal quality, particularly during the various vocal performances of Satya McGarry and the backup choir. Some portions of the percussion are deep and lingering while others are accelerated and driven, but it all fits together well and holds the score together. It’s not your typical dramatic score - and this is definitely a good thing. [...] It’s a wonderful listen from start to finish and leaves audience with the promise that Mark Kilian is just getting started.
  • In honor of the upcoming UK release of Before the Rains, another review has been published, this time by ScotlandOnSunday. Blogger Stefan has posted a thoughtful review as well.
  • At LiveMint there is an interview with Santosh Sivan, who speaks English but thinks in Malayalam.
  • Finally, in an article at Rediff News, we are told that the film's trek across North America could yield quite a chunk of change:
    Santosh Sivan's story of lustful colonial encounters and inequities, Before the Rains, starring Nandita Das, Rahul Roy and Linus Roache, has been better received than Brick Lane. The Sivan film received a strong review from The New York Times, and Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Ebert, while giving it two and a half stars out of four, had kind words to say about cinematographer-director Sivan. Before the Rains could likely end its North American run with about $1 million.

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