Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #867
Written 6/4/04, Revised 10/14/11
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Buy it... if you admire Stephen Warbeck's loyalty to tonal, melodic
constructs and seek an extension of that style into a more diversely
rewarding and touching score.
Avoid it... if the sappy style of irrepressible, happy music for
docudramas about cute and cuddly animals is not in your interest, no
matter how well executed.
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| Warbeck |
Two Brothers: (Stephen Warbeck) In the style of a
documentary with a touch of drama and adventure, director and producer
Jean-Jacques Annaud extended his approach from his similar film, The
Bear, into an even more engaging, dialogue-filled tale for Two
Brothers in 2004. 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 might have seen National
Geographic produce for the Discovery Channel or Hallmark productions
(early rumors that National Geographic would produce or distribute
Two Brothers itself were false; Universal give it a wide
release), and you're always reminded of the popularity of Born
Free in these feel-good animal and nature stories involving human
intervention. Two tiger brothers are born in the Far East during the
1920's, 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 rotten humans spoiling the idyllic conditions and
vistas presented on screen. Annaud had solicited the scoring services of
James Horner and John Williams in his previous two films but turned to
active British television composer Stephen Warbeck for Two
Brothers. Warbeck's orchestral credits for major films were
highlighted at the time by Captain Corelli's Mandolin and
Shakespeare in Love, the latter winning an Academy Award in 1998,
and transcending the rather mundane and conservative symphonic style
heard in those scores, Warbeck started flashing more of his diverse
talents in 2003 and 2004. With his television score for
Dreamkeeper and then Two Brothers, the composer's ethnic
sensibilities and knowledge of exotic solo instrumentation added another
dimension to his otherwise predictable Western style, branching out in
such a way as to improve his reputation for those had not been convinced
of his capabilities during his rapid ascent to mainstream recognition in
the late 1990's.
The best accomplishment in Warbeck's impressive score
for
Two Brothers is the composer's effective balance between the
lyricism of the Western orchestral elements and the tone 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 a documentary format. On
the other hand, Warbeck doesn't hesitate to offer his flourishing
orchestra in large melodic sweeps when the sensibilities of a scene call
for such emotion. The animalistic aspects of the story (both on the part
of the tigers and humans) is handled with raw, violent action sequences
for the entire orchestral ensemble, augmented by familiar drums that
accompanied the stories in
Dreamkeeper and the same ferocious
attitude of the brass. Both "Chasing the Truck" and "The Hunt" offer
heart-pounding ensemble rhythms punctuated by terrifying trombone
figures, yielding eventually to another side of Warbeck's score for
Two Brothers: the circus. The carnival aspect, set to a bizarre
accordion and tuba combination in a sickeningly off-kilter rhythm, is
perhaps the hardest element to appreciate outside of the context of the
film, though it seems effective in its task. The score shines brightest
when the two tigers are together, both at the beginning and at the end,
allowing Warbeck extensive development of the dominant family theme that
anchors his entire work. The two highlight cues of the score are
"Recognition," in which the family theme for the tigers is finally
performed with the loving strings and heartbreaking harmony it truly
requires, and "To Freedom," when the enduring child-like spirit of the
tigers explodes with glee though Warbeck's use of a hip (or hokey,
depending on how you approach it) whistler for a catchy rendition of the
same theme. Other cues of comedy, such as "Havoc," are performed largely
by the Asian instruments alone, adding a flavor of authenticity to the
score that was sometimes lacking in Warbeck's earlier, better known film
scores. If you are a detractor of
Shakespeare in Love, then be
forewarned that the lush, alternating strings figures that you heard
throughout that score will greet you right off the bat in
Two
Brothers, but at least the composer explores far more varied
territory thereafter. The lack of a
Born Free-style song is
perhaps a bit surprising until you contemplate the director's history.
Overall, this is yet another impressively rewarding and touching score
from Warbeck, proving him to be a much more multi-dimensional composer
than many may have thought he was.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check:
For Stephen Warbeck reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.29
(in 7 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.23
(in 9,323 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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