|  Author | Topic: Having now seen and heard... Babel (Read 829 times) |
franzridesagain
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|  | Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Thread Started on Jan 12, 2007, 6:17am » | |
I'm a little tired to discuss it in full now, but I think after seeing BABEL tonight I have an idea why it stands a strong chance of winning the Oscar for Best Original Score. (And if it isn't BABEL, why THE QUEEN will beat it.) Innaritu gives entire sections of his interesting film over to the music, with "Talent Vacuum" Santaolalla's oud-based theme (and frequently other sources) serving as the sole accompaniment to the furious images of glbal discontent. It's not great music... it's not even particularly great film music... but it's impossible not to notice it, it defines the tone of those moments, and I suppose if you have an open mind about it, you could come off with the impression that this is not a film by someone afraid to foreground the music. (In that sense - and that alone - it is curiously similar to the presence of Alexandre Desplat's music for THE QUEEN. Interesting that both films are going for all the music prizes - it's no surprise when you think how foregrounded the music is in each.)
Can't help but feel that the makers (and particularly whoever suggested the oud-based theme) must have seen SYRIANA, which uses a similar - if more interesting - theme for harp and oud for counterpoint to on-screen imagery. They've certainly seen THE INSIDER... more on that later.
My thoughts on film and score to follow in a bit more depth in the next few days.
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Demetris Christodoulides
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #1 on Jan 12, 2007, 9:06am » | |
Interesting. Thanks Michael.
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Southall
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #2 on Jan 12, 2007, 9:21am » | |
Interesting. Thanks Michael.
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Armin
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #3 on Jan 12, 2007, 1:22pm » | |
Interesting, but still not interested. Thanks Michael.
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christopher
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #4 on Jan 12, 2007, 2:22pm » | |
Hmm, this is a thought. I wonder how often music from a film is considered for oscar simply because of its presence in the film. That could be why Pride and Prejudice got a nomination last year. It was good music and was really showcased in the film.
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franzridesagain
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #5 on Jan 12, 2007, 9:00pm » | |
I still haven't quite gathered my thoughts for my assault on BABEL - both film and musical approach - but I think one thing that aids BABEL considerably, is not only that the music is isolated in the mix for some fantastic transitional sequences, but also something about the character of the music calls attention to the performance. Nearly every time - you hear the strumming of the oud... you can feel the player plucking, improvising, taking it here and there.
So there's a strong sense of the music not only as being there, but also of the performance and dexterity of it. It separates you from the on-screen action, forcing you to study what you see and hear because they seem to be coming from very different places. And because that main theme from BABEL starts up and goes on about 7-8 times in the film, you'd have to be an idiot not to notice it. (And this film's likely audience will be people probably slightly more sensitive to film technique than others.)
I noticed something similar in MIAMI VICE last year when a piano version of Moby's 'Anthem' was used. You really felt the disconnection between image and music at that moment, and had a stronger sense of where each note was falling than with music that manages not to be noticable. And perhaps this explains why scores that make prominent use of solo instrumentation in key diegetic and non-diegetic ways often feature in the Oscar line-up. Solo cello and violin in last year's MEMOIRS, solo cello and guitar in THE CONSTANT GARDENER, solo piano in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, solo steel-string guitar from BROKEBACK, solo violin in THE VILLAGE, cello in CROUCHING TIGER... I think I might be onto something here.
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Demetris Christodoulides
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #6 on Jan 13, 2007, 7:58pm » | |
Indeed Michael.
Gustavo - to his aid here - always pays special attention to the sound recording and mixing of his scores; everything is crystal-clear and tremendously detailed. Bravo, i'd say.
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cheno
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #7 on Jan 13, 2007, 8:55pm » | |
Quote:| Gustavo - to his aid here - |
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Blasphemy! 
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Armin
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #8 on Jan 14, 2007, 12:04am » | |
Meaning he hires the right people to do the work for him? That is the least that can be expected from a professional. My guess is that it is more so he can still use the old stuff for years to come, so to say to counter the improvements in recording equipment b working on the highest level now, so when he puts the same stuff in a movie 10 years on it will only sound slightly outdated. Smart move.
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franzridesagain
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #9 on Jan 14, 2007, 3:50am » | |
I've hinted above by the way that "Talent Vacuum" Santaolalla has knowingly slipped a redux of a famous old piece of his by his employers on BABEL, which is not something I meant to do at all. 'Iguazu' would have been known to Innaritu, who has knowingly adopted a lot of the ideas behind the very specific look and sound of Michael Mann's films. 'Iguazu' comes from the RONROCCO album too, and Innaritu used a track from that album on his 11'09'01 contribution.
So the director knows what he's doing, and I would sooner regard it as "Talent Vacuum" Santaolalla being asked to reproduce the temp track. (His attempt at scoring the scene is probably the piece that opens the end credits.) Rather than blaming "Talent Vacuum" Santaolalla for that wave of familiarity that overcame me when watching the emotional climax of the film, I'd sooner give the director a slap on the wrists for arrogantly thinking he can borrow music so memorably used in another recent film and not expect people to get distracted by it.
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chollman
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #10 on Feb 21, 2007, 8:18pm » | |
I finally watched Babel and I was completely and wholeheartedly dissapointed by it. It was an utter disaster. I went into it really excited and really expecting something phenomenal, I came out perplexed and irritated.
First off, the movie:
The entire Japanese girl storyline was completely unneccessary. It was only there to make a point (the movie, to me, a commentary on language and the barriers it places upon us and shows how primal and angry we can be with one another solely based on difference in languages). I mean, it was interesting to see how she coped with the trauma of her mother's death and how society places almost a "monster" label on her. But it did nothing for the overall story.
Then there is the whole timeline thing. Sure, at the end of the movie, you are able to figure out the sequence of events (as well as during the movie, some things are quite obvious), but for the most part you are left confused about what happens when.
Like Crash, this is a movie, somewhat, about racism and different cultures. The thing about Crash is that it shows it well and convincingly. Babel is a movie that tries far too hard on nearly every level and fails on nearly every level.
As a quick aside, the best thing about the film was Amelia (the 'Aunt' of the kids)'s performance. She deserves to be up for the Oscar, not the japanese girl, her performance was somewhat of a letdown.
Now the music:
I agree that with entire sections of the film turned to music, it is hard no to notice it. But it also hard not to notice that it is pretty crappy music. The only piece of music that made the movie more dramatic and meaningly was the end piece in Japan (the Sakamoto piece 'Bibo no Aozora'). That is a fantastic piece of music.
I wonder is the Academy realized how little music Gustavo contributed to this and that the most dramatic scenes were not composed by him?
And how does a guitar or a guitar-type instrument manage to fit into every type of culture and society there is? And when it isn't a guitar, it is synths droning on and on. A huge misfire and I really hope that this doesn't win the Oscar.
I hope that they pick a score that actually enhances the movie. Perhaps a better score could have made this a better movie. I don't know. All I know is that I was completely let down.
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ripley
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #11 on Feb 22, 2007, 10:48am » | |
I agree that the music isn't all that great in BABEL except for the inserted
Sakamoto cue. And I do find flaws in the movie. Brief spoiler ahead:
warning.......
The gun connection to the Japanese seemed very stretched.
I do see themes of randomness, chance, fate, and how we are all
connected displayed in this movie, some effective, some not.
Where I do think the movie is effective is in its portrayal of the
lack of communication on a national, international, and personal
level. Spoilers ahead: you've been warned....spoilers...
The media twists the shooting and doesn't "hear" the truth. It
just supposes terrorism. Pitt can't get an ambulance in. Countries
are not hearing him. He and his wife never dealt with loss of their
child; they didn't communicate until that heart-wrenching scene where
he is lifting her to a toilet. Then they talk. But he turns around and
tells the Hispanic nanny that he can't get a sitter in his home. He
doesn't HEAR her pleas that she must attend her son's wedding, and
his deaf ears leads to her desperate solution to take his kids, and all
that leads to tragedy. The border guard doesn't hear her and makes
assumptions leading to tragedy. Of course, the ultimate symbol
of lack of communication is the Japanese deaf mute whose
misdirected sexual advances signal her desperation for some
kind of communication and human connection. You can apply this
to the father and his two boys and the guards who shoot first instead of
listening. And in the end, we, people from highly technological societies and
and third world countries, just end up "babeling." I found the
movie effective in that thematic portrayal, and I found the Hispanic
Nanny's performance and Pitt's performance Oscar worthy. But
I wasn't a fan of the music, and it isn't a perfect movie.
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franzridesagain
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #12 on Feb 22, 2007, 12:39pm » | |
I actually found the Sakamoto cue that everyone likes really annoying in the film. Those sawing strings and tinkling piano are SO CHEESY. "Talent Vacuum" Santaolalla's oud-pieces at least are slightly captivating in their respective sequences.
The best cue for me was "Talent Vacuum" Santaolalla's end title piece 'Endless Flight', followed by the familiar 'Iguazu'.
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'There is no music... only time...'
(title of the forthcoming James Horner memoirs - presumably self-titled) |
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indy2003
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #13 on Feb 22, 2007, 12:42pm » | |
Quote:I actually found the Sakamoto cue that everyone likes really annoying in the film. Those sawing strings and tinkling piano are SO CHEESY. "Talent Vacuum" Santaolalla's oud-pieces at least are slightly captivating in their respective sequences.
The best cue for me was "Talent Vacuum" Santaolalla's end title piece 'Endless Flight', followed by the familiar 'Iguazu'. |
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I thought it was cheesy too, especially as a companion piece to the film's final images. Pretty enough on it's own, though.
Back at ya later
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christopher
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| | Re: Having now seen and heard... Babel
« Reply #14 on Feb 22, 2007, 2:17pm » | |
Quote: And in the end, we, people from highly technological societies and
and third world countries, just end up "babeling." |
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The title of the film, Babel, has reference to the famed Tower of Babel from the book of Genesis. The story goes that it was there that all the people tried to build a tower that would be tall enough to get to heaven. God cursed them for it and confounded their languages. As a result, no one could understand anyone else. That is the Bible's explanation for when languages first were changed from the language that Adam was speaking. Babel sounds like an approriate title for this film.
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