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Noll's handling of Emil's theme in Traumfabrik really begins to cook in "Das Filmteam," as he assembles his crew for a certain-to-be-doomed production of Cleopatra. After everything goes wrong with filming, blowing his charade for studio executives, a pivotal scene comes with the cue "Emil der Regisseur," Emil watching his rough cut and realizing that it's actually (and miraculously) really quite good. It's as heartwarming a romantic moment as in any score of recent memory, even if there's more than a small dose of cheese involved. Likewise, as the Cleopatra crew goes on strike to save Emil's job in "Das Filmteam Streikt," another full-ensemble expression of resolve for the theme occupies the latter half of that cue. Meanwhile, the theme for Milou the dancer is far, far more understated, matching the character's more grounded demeanor. Presented by piano and woodwinds, the rather dour theme is heard most prominently during Milou's travel scenes by car, as in "Valse de Milou," and the progressions of this idea rise initially but always fall again at the end the phrase, suggesting her pessimism compared to Emil. Through relatively late in the film ("Milous Thema," her final entrance in costume and the only cue significantly out of order on the album release), this somber atmosphere prevails in her theme. But the final pair of outstanding cues flips this score completely around because of the blossoming of Milou's theme into a musical juggernaut for her final dance and escape sequences. The more contemporary and exotic performance of the idea opening "Milous Traum," as the Cleopatra production's major dance sequence successfully unfolds with almost no other sound in the mix to inhibit the score, is a presence extraordinarily dominant if not almost too pronounced. After Milou's theme returns to somber piano early in the concluding "Traumfabrik" cue, Noll regenerates to the more contemporary romantic style at 1:21 for her escape from the border crossing back to the studio. This is a rare moment in which the accompanying choir for the score performs one of the two individual leads' themes. That privilege is typically held for the love theme, which often exists in other-worldly fantasy moments as expected for this context. Still dominated by piano, this theme really shines with its sometimes subtle choral coloration, starting with its performance over the opening logos in "Prolog."

The love theme in Traumfabrik is humorously translated into a French parody of itself in "Val de Loire," the reason for which is fully illuminated at the end of the film as the story returns to modern times. As a nod to Emil's sudden intrigue with Milou, the "Mia Lorena" Latin dance scene uses Emil's theme as inspiration instead of their love theme, and Noll almost certainly intentionally neglects to use the theme for their first, unexpected kiss in "Ein Halber Kuss." In this cue, a French Horn in James Horner mode leads into a lush but generic romantic flourish that is organically cut short by strings slurring downward to represent failure; a second application of this technique later during a scene of film seems to have been applied in the post-production of the score and is not actually a part of the music. Playful hints of the love theme first emerge in "Der Gänsehirte" and formalize in the second, genuine kissing scene in "Ein Ganzer Kuss." As the leads are reunited in "Tränenpalast 1962," Noll provides several bittersweet renditions of the theme, first with hopeful choir and then dejected solo cello and piano. The hope returns in "Peut-Être," the soft, incomplete spirit of which inspires the music in several late cues of frustration. Shades of this material turn magical for the firefly sequence for choir in "Glühwürmchen." In "Emil und Milou" and its reprise cue late, Noll offers increasing lush string depth for the theme as their inevitable affair matures. A remarkable diversion during these scenes is "Die Letzte Nacht," conveying a jazzy element in the theme with the solo female voice gorgeously foreshadowing "Milous Traum" and a solo trumpet offering a distinct noir touch. The climax of the film in "Milous Traum" offers the love theme in pure symphonic and choral fantasy mode, ending with distinctly fanfare celebration. The theme naturally closes out the film as the two leads sit atop the theatre together in "Traumfabrik." Aside from the major themes, Traumfabrik offers a number of easily digestible rhythmic comedy cues for both the studio and Emil's antics, starting with "Der Gänsehirte" and extending to "Büro Karl Boborkmann" and "Ein Drehbuch fur 'Kleopatra'." The pair of "score within a score" source cues are entertaining, "Kleopatra" and "Die Krönung" presenting overblown symphonic humor akin to Patrick Doyle, the latter choral explosion particularly effective in its incorporation of Emil's theme. Later in the film, as we see the score for Cleopatra being recorded, we hear that score's main theme appended at 1:13 into Noll's "Kleopatra."

For some listeners, Noll's work for Traumfabrik could become too distracting as mixed into the picture, especially in later scenes when it is serving dual roles. Some of the comedy and character themes are conversely dialed back to the point that they don't have as much of an impact as they could have. There is a fair but not hugely significant amount of material missing from the mostly chronological 64-minute album representing Noll's work. As mentioned before, two of the score's more interesting suspenseful moments are missing from the product, including the fight scene between the two love interests at the end and, more impactfully, the tense border crossing scene involving Milou earlier. Also a missing cue of note is Milou's entrance onto the set during Cleopatra filming the first time, the female vocals here again foreshadowing the later dance performance. Enthusiasts of the comedy portions of the score will be disappointed that the entrance of the drunken Romans is also not on the album. A fair number of understated cues from late in the film are absent this presentation as well, from the celebration of Emil's release from jail to other miscellaneous performances of the three main themes as the story unfolds; most notably missing is the love theme rendition on piano immediately after "Milous Traum." The album does include the decent but not spectacular ballad, "See You Again," based in part on Noll's love theme and performed rather conservatively by German pop superstar Helene Fischer. (Fischer does not supply the female vocals heard throughout the score.) The song opens the end credits, after which several of Noll's prior cues are reprised. Overall, Traumfabrik is a somewhat haphazard but often exceptional romance score. For those not bothered by the open parody portions, it has few weaknesses. The album presentation could really have used another 10 minutes of Noll's score, even if those important missing cues are short and not always pleasant. The product also doesn't level the volume on the tracks particularly well, which means that the introspective romance portions can lure you into increasing your volume before a cue like "Die Krönung" abruptly blasts the soundscape with a vaguely Egyptian fantasy riff out of the blue. And, as awesome as "Milous Traum" truly is (it's the quality of cue that easily contends for the best of the year), it risks sounding overblown in context. Still, such quibbles are minor compared to the total achievement by Noll here. His breakthrough work is among the more touching and humorous scores of the decade.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Total Time: 64:14