Buy it... if you wish to hear Stephen Warbeck extend his surprisingly diverse talents into a rewarding and touching score.

Avoid it... if the sappy style of irrepressible, happy music for docu-dramas about cute and cuddly animals is not in your interest.

Warbeck

Two Brothers: (Stephen Warbeck) In the style of a documentary drama/adventure, director and producer Jean-Jacques Annaud extends his approach from his similar film, The Bear, into an even more engaging, dialogue-filled tale for Two Brothers. Annaud, who seems to handle animal films with intense passion, utilizes two live tigers in the film --not being tempted to resort to Hollywood trickery and CGI effects for the animals-- and merges their personal tale with a normal compliment of human actors. The story is as touching as something you'd see National Geographic produce for the Discovery Channel or Hallmark productions (early rumors that National Geographic would produce or distribute Two Brothers were false; Universal is giving it a wide release). Two tiger brothers are born in the 1920's Far East, separated by humans for several years and forced into unnatural positions as pets and circus performers before, inevitably, the two reunite when the humans force them to fight. Despite that frightening reunion, the PG-rated film is aimed at families, and rest assured that the two tigers recognize each other and all turns out well. Filmed on location in Cambodia and Thailand, the film definitely qualifies as eye candy, with only the humans spoiling the idyllic conditions and vistas presented on screen. Annaud had included the scoring services of James Horner and John Williams in his last two films, but turned to active British television composer Stephen Warbeck for Two Brothers. Warbeck's orchestral credits for major films are highlighted by Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Shakespeare in Love (which won an Academy Award in 1998), and despite a rather mundane and conservative symphonic style heard in these scores, Warbeck is flashing more of his diverse talents in the past year. With his television score for Dreamkeeper and now Two Brothers, Warbeck's ethnic sensibilities and knowledge of exotic solo instrumentation adds another dimension to his reputation.

The best accomplishment in Warbeck's impressive score for Two Brothers is the effective balance between the lyricism of the Western orchestral elements and those of the East Asian location in an era past. The Chinese and other Southeast Asian instrumentation produce a realistic backdrop for the historical truths in the parts of the tale that closely follow documentary format. On the other hand, Warbeck doesn't hesitate to offer his flourishing orchestra in large thematic sweeps when the sensibilities call for such emotion. The animalistic aspects of the story (both on the part of the tigers and humans) is performed with violent action sequences for the entire orchestral ensemble, with drums that accompanied the stories in Dreamkeeper and the same ferocious attitude of the brass. Both "Chasing the Truck" and "The Hunt" offer heartpounding ensemble rhythms, yielding eventually to another side of Warbeck's score for Two Brothers: the circus. The carnival theme, set to a bizarre accordion and tuba in a sickeningly off-kilter rhythm, is perhaps the hardest element on album to enjoy, although seems effective in its task. The score shines brightest when the two tigers are together, both at the beginning and at the end. Two highlight cues are "Recognition," when the family theme for the tigers is finally performed with the loving strings and heartbreaking harmony, and "To Freedom," when the child-like spirit of the tigers explodes with glee though Warbeck's use of a hip whistler for a catchy thematic rendition. Other cues of comedy, such as "Havoc" are performed largely by the Asian instruments, and add a flavor of authenticity to the score that was sometimes lacking in Warbeck's earlier well-known film scores. If you are a detractor of Shakespeare in Love, then be forewarned that the lush, alternating strings that you heard throughout that score will greet you right off the bat in Two Brothers. Overall, this is yet another impressive score from Stephen Warbeck, whose talents on display here are proving him to be a much more multi-dimensional composer than many may have thought he was. A rewarding and touching score all around. ****

Bias Check:

For Stephen Warbeck reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.5 (in 6 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.5 (in 8,258 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.