Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you seek a direct, culturally precise extension of the feel-good spirit of the film, with Yann Tiersen's whimsical waltzes and pretty solo performances matching the title character's innocence perfectly. Avoid it... if you hear accordions in your nightmares, because their intimately dry and exuberant performances in this score could torture a person not accustomed to the stereotypical extremes of Parisian romance music. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Amélie: (Yann Tiersen) For a stretch of time in the late 1990's and early 2000's, the burgeoning arthouse scene gave birth to international distributions of hot foreign films that became the "flavor of the year" for American cinema goers. In late 2001, against formidable competition from major fantasy franchises, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain achieved hyper-popularity in its native France, its name condensed to Amélie for its awards-garnering international run. For many outside of France, the film was audiences' introduction to actress Audrey Tantou, who plays a waitress with a mundane lifestyle in Paris until she stumbles upon a box of small, hidden treasures in her apartment that leads her on a voyage of discovery. Through her resulting selfless acts of kindness to others, she eventually meets a man who could possibly be her soulmate. The romance of Amélie is true to the Parisan setting, and few films can match this one's aptitude for capturing the essence of the ultimate feel-good story. The same description could likely apply to Yann Tiersen's score for Amélie, itself achieving significant and lasting popularity in response to the film. Tiersen was not primarily a composer of music for soundtracks at the time; rather, he was best known in Europe as a musician and recording artist with a striking ability to play a plethora of instruments himself. The director by chance heard a sampling of Tiersen's music in a production assistant's car and it shouldn't be surprising that a fair amount of the artist's existing material ended up tracked into the finished cut of Amélie. Since up to 60% of the music for the film came from his various albums from 1995 to 2001 ("La Valse des Monstres," "Rue des Cascades," "Le Phare," and "L'Absente"), the score was likely considered ineligible for an Oscar nomination, and this reliance upon previously available material is something of a disappointment. Fortunately, all of Tiersen's music acquired for this film falls into familiar instrumental patterns, so those unfamiliar with his works will likely not know the difference. What they will learn immediately is that Amélie is the kind of score that will strongly divide listeners based upon ethnic comfort zones and, of course, an affinity for the film. Thus, while the score has a very devoted following (and has been compared, though not very accurately, to the music of Geroges Delerue), it could conceivably drive some listeners absolutely nuts. Although it may be an over-simplification to condense the merits of Amélie down to one statement, it could be argued that your appreciation of the score depends solely on your tolerance of accordions. If you hear the "Pennsylvania Polka" from Groundhog Day in your nightmares, then by all means steer clear of Amélie. The accordion is joined by vibraphone, piano, glockenspiel, mandolin, banjo, and acoustic guitar in conveying the numerous spirited, small-ensemble scherzos or solemn solos that rotate mostly between accordion and piano. A string orchestra is utilized at times, but never with enough harmonic depth to make it worthy of discussion. The textures of these instruments are utilized to their fullest, with almost explosive rhythmic exuberance often supercharging the atmosphere with whimsical, dancing spirit. The score's more contemplative moments don't completely shake that bouncing spirit, the lovely piano solos of "Le Moulin" still maintaining a generally positive environment. The consistency of the score, led by its original title theme in the "La Valse D'Amelie" tracks (first for accordion and then for orchestra and eventually piano solo later on album), is only truly shaken by changes in tempo for the accordion and ensemble. For listeners enamored by the innocent beauty, both physically and in intent, of the film's lead character, the waltzes in this music will satisfactorily tip toe delicately through her small adventures, always soliciting a smile with their sense of humor. A handful of lightly mechanical sound effects at the start or end of a few cues will help that cause. Additionally, a few creaky old gramophone-like recordings of songs from yesteryear litter the album and reinforce the product's effectiveness as a souvenir. On the other hand, if you could not grasp the appeal of the film (or if you're not prepared for it), the score for Amélie could be a nearly insufferable representation of all the stereotypical sounds of Parisian culture that annoy you the most, packaged in such condensed fashion that you may not even be able to complete the listening experience. It's hard not to gravitate towards the latter line of thinking, because Tiersen's career sound is so distinctly foreign to those unaccustomed to hearing accordions in waltzes with any regularity. For listeners who love every last second of that sound, however, Virgin Records accompanied their initial commercial album for Amélie in Europe with a limited edition that features four additional cues at the end (amounting to about eight minutes of material). Either way, it's hard to be neutral about music with such overflowing style. *** Track Listings (2001 American and French Albums):
Total Time: 54:45
Track Listings (2001 Limited Album):
Total Time: 61:36
All artwork and sound clips from Amélie are Copyright © 2001, Virgin Records (French/limited), Virgin Records (American). The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/30/09, updated 12/30/09. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2009-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
2001 French
