The Good Musician

“The Kite Runner” soundtrack Spanish-Arabic crossover

by csnowden on May 27th, 2008

My three favorite foreign movies this decade are Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers, Deepa Mehta’s Water, and The Kite Runner from Swiss director Marc Forster.

I happen to adore Bollywood, it reminds me of the sumptuous saturated colors of 1950’s musicals of my childhood. Operetta under the stars on a Dallas summer evening was a treat for the family, following a dinner at the original El Fenix downtown.

Back to The Kite Runner. I always check out the music credits, and saw the composer was Spanish. Interesting. Then I remembered that there is an Arabic musical tradition in Spain from the time of the Moorish occupation, and it made perfect sense.

None of the three movies are in any sense musicals from the American version of the 50’s. The Battle of Algiers was filmed in documentary style, with the sounds of real life. Water was as well, with the sounds of life in an Indian nunnery for widows…of all ages. In TKR, contemporary popular music contrasts with classical Mideastern forms and instruments.

TKR introduced me to Islamic pop, Sami Yusuf, and a gorgeous palette of original music by Alberto Iglesias. Iglesias also wrote the soundtrack for Volver, The Constant Gardner, The Dancer Upstairs, Talk to Her, and Bad Education. The best Spanish flicks of the decade.

Check ‘em out.

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POSTED IN: 20th Century, 21st Century, Ethnomusicology, Music history and theory, World