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East-West (Est-Ouest): (Patrick Doyle) Under its
French title,
Est-Ouest was the country's foreign language
nominee for a 1999 Academy Award. Director Regis Wargnier's examination
of post-World War II life in France and Russia was widely acclaimed and
eventually picked up by Sony for international distribution the
following year. Immediately after the end of the war, a French woman and
her Russian husband relocate to his homeland and quickly discover that
Soviet rule is not as advertised. Their efforts to move back to Paris
are thwarted by the government, and they are forced to rely on the help
of a young swimmer who complicates matters by forming a love triangle
due to the faltering wife's affections. The location and romantic appeal
inspired composer Patrick Doyle to return from his battle with leukemia
to write one of the most passionate scores of his career. Doyle had
collaborated with Wargnier for
Indochine and
Une Femme
Francais in the 1990's, two powerfully dramatic scores of classical
weight, and the composer would take that sound a few steps further for
East-West. It had been almost two years since Doyle's last
widespread score,
Great Expectations, hinted at some of the
themes that you hear in
East-West, with
The Quest for
Camelot an enigma in between. Doyle's emotionally complex and grand
orchestral style for this score is expressed in three very distinct
elements that he brings to the table. First, he continues his habit of
writing extremely heavy, dramatic themes and integrating them very well
into a harmonic backdrop with mainly layers of strings. He composes
three separate themes for
East-West, one each for the swimmer,
the French woman, and the oppressive circumstances in which they all
find themselves caught.
The second major aspect of the score is Doyle's
dabbling into the Slavic choral tradition, suggesting even more power to
Soviet control. Lastly, the swimmer's scenes in the water are provided
with a rolling identity by pianist Emmanuel Ax, and it this collection
of four cues that truly elevates
East-West to Oscar-worthy
material. Ironically, it's the lack of integration of these three sides
of the score's personality into one smooth whole that is its only
significant weakness. The general theme for oppression is immediately
explored in "Opening Titles" and eventually passes most of its airtime
to the similarly rendered theme for the French woman as the story
focuses more on her hardships. The oppression theme is much like
Indochine in character and construct, both serious and gorgeous
in its string performances over brass counterpoint. The theme for the
French woman does take significant inspiration from the dramatic
classicism of
Great Expectations, including several similar
shifts in progression. Doyle's subtle references to this theme early in
the score, starting with "Arrival in Kiev," are well masked, though
salvation with this theme eventually comes unhindered in "Freedom." The
performances of traditional hymns by the Ukrainian Army Choir, led once
by an impressive baritone voice, exist in three cues spread throughout
the score's album presentation. Doyle makes the most from his time spent
on location in Kiev and Sofia during filming by adapting his own title
theme into an even fuller vocal performance in "The Land" (featuring
Anatoly Fokonov and the Bulgarian Mixed Choir) that has echoes of "Non
Nobis Domine" from
Henry V in several aspects. Doyle's theatre
talents offered him the chance to not only compose the material, but
also write the lyrics. These choral sequences provide the most poignant
and, perhaps, pivotal examples of ethnic influence on the score.
Stealing the show, however, is Ax's piano wizardry in
the scenes of swimming. The frenetic movements of this theme,
accompanied by the full ensemble, are among the most impressive single
expressions of a grand piano in film music history. Ax's extraordinary
performances starting in "The River" are infectiously rapturous and,
when combined with a snare drum and Doyle's typical string-heavy
orchestra, are undeniably engaging. Even with much of the fan-based and
critical attention focused on "The Land" and the other choral moments of
the
East-West score, the piano solos are still those that will
remain at the forefront of your memory. Such explosive usage of the
instrument is something so rarely employed in the Digital Age of film
music (a sound that unfortunately died off to a large extent at the end
of the Golden Age) that you have to admire Doyle's ambitious writing for
it here. The outstanding recording mix of the ensemble and Ax's
performances produce a resounding sound that also extends to the choral
portions, which often exude an ambience consistent with a magnificent
cathedral recording. Overall, the score's only weakness is the same
which afflicted
Great Expectations, and that is the lack of fluid
movement between the choral moments and the remainder of the material.
The piano cues are a better match for the surrounding score (the
instrument is also present in a lesser role in those extended cues).
Without consistency, some of the elegance of the whole is lost on album,
though there is no doubt that individual highlights within
East-West are among the best of Doyle's career. The score was
released by Sony in Europe in 1999 under its French title, and was
distributed in America a year later (with identical contents) under the
English name. No matter how you acquire this score, you will be
impressed by its stunning parts even if the entirety may not hold
together.
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