1 |
Lust,
Caution |
2 |
Dinner
Waltz |
3 |
Falling
Rain |
4 |
Intermezzo
In A Major Op.118 No.2 |
5 |
Streets
Of Shanghai |
6 |
Playacting |
| 7 |
Tsim Sha Tsui Stroll |
8 |
Exodus |
9 |
Moonlight Drive |
10 |
Shanghai
1942 |
11 |
The
End Of Innocence |
12 |
Sacrifice |
13 |
Remember
Everything |
14 |
Check
Point |
15 |
The
Secret |
16 |
Nanjing
Road |
17 |
On
the Street |
18 |
The
Angel |
19 |
The
South Quarry |
20 |
An
Empty Bed |
21 |
Dinner
Waltz (Traffic Quintet) |
22 |
Wong
Chia Chi's Theme |
23 |
Seduction |
24 |
Desire |
25 |
Yan
Mo – Jacky Cheung |
SOUNDTRACK REVIEW:
After rediscovering royalty in The
Queen and exploring the mysterious East in his score for
The Painted Veil, French
composer Alexandre Desplat takes on espionage and spies in
1942 Shanghai in his latest work. And after a few listens
to this finely produced album, we were left in emotional standstill.
Not that
this is a bad thing, because it only goes to show how Desplat
has increasingly composed passionate music that work on a
personally affecting level.
Just because
Ang Lee’s film is set in China, do not expect to hear
any Chinese orchestrations in this 64-minute album. It is
indeed a pleasant surprise to hear sophisticated classical
music like “Intermezzo In A Major Op.118 No.2”
and the elegantly polished “Dinner Waltz”. Listen
out for “Nanjing Road”, because director Lee plays
the piano in it. This man’s got talent, we say.
The unforgettably
bittersweet theme of Wong Chia Chi is played out in a range
of variations, in tracks like “Falling Rain”,
“The End of Innocence” and “The Angel”.
In each of these different cues, Desplat evokes different
emotions of suspense, loneliness, tension and seclusion to
heartbreaking effect. To hear the theme played out in its
full glory, listen to “Wong Chia Chi’s Theme”,
where the four-minute cue will touch intimately your soul.
The Asian version of this soundtrack includes a track performed
by heavenly king Jacky Cheung. Entitled “Yan Mo”
(which translates to sinking), this mournful rendition of
the main theme aptly displays the film’s heavy suppression
of feelings and emotions.
Elsewhere,
the other tracks are fine demonstrations of accessibly listenable
cues which deliver maturely fitting undercurrents to suit
the film’s themes. The constant use of quiet xylophones,
plodding strings and graceful pianos are a pleasure to the
ears.
At
the end of the album, your resultant heavy heart will remind
you of how fragile human emotions are.
ALBUM
RATING:
 
Recommended Track: (22) Wong Chia Chi's Theme
Review
by John Li
|
