El Ciudadano Ilustre
Toni M. Mir
" The composer wrote a simple, instantly likeable theme for piano "Written by Joep de Bruijn - Review of the download only release
Composer Tony M. Mir is from Spanish origin, even though the name suggest otherwise. For years he has composed music for tv commercials and accordingly, he somehow was able to develop a musical voice by doing commercials. Later on he would expand on his musical career writing for other mediums like films, documentaries, shorts and theatre. In 2001 he made his scoring debute for a full lenght film called Fausto 5.0 and has since then written the music to films such as Las Dos Vidas de Andrés Rabadán and Greencard Warriors. Nowadays he continues to write for different kinds of media, but wishes to focus more prominently on films.
The Argentiian-Spanish satirical dark comedy El Ciudadano Ilustre ((The Distuingished Gentlemen) is a film about a Nobel Prize Literature winner who returns home to Argentinia, after a long absence. In the past there have been written numerous of scores concerning themselves musically with the kind of Nobel prize winner presented in the film, usually persons in the field of science. These can have a certain kind of a signature sound, but literature is something else and I can't think of any strong resembles in this kind of area. Mir approaches the main protagnist theme from a universal approach, reflecting the nostalgic feeling of someone looking back. The composer wrote a simple, instantly likeable theme for piano which doesn't evolve much, but as an listening experience is pleasant to hear. If you would seperate all thematic cues from the rest of the score you could create a conceptual creation that has a rather nice dramatical flow. The themes paires with a small variety of light and dark electronics, an occasional drumloop and other additional synthesized effects. The two most deviating takes are heard as the main protagnist visitis a cemetary and during the end credits. In the cemetary scene, the theme is supported by some smally dissonant and spooky synthesizer sounds, while the end credits introduces us to an upbeat contemporary take. This last cue vagely reminds you of how composers like Craig Armstrong and Ibrahim Maalouf occasionally treat their material at the end of their scores.
In between the thematic material there are a few cues that kind of reveal the tv commercial background of the composer, as they are short and right in your face musical statements that have a very direct comical purpose. This is evident in two short rock n roll introductions and the heavily cliched royal fanfares as he receives the nobel prize. Without a doubt the best,and at the same time, worst cue of the score is the cue ''Video Homenaje''. It perfectly captures the essense of most video tributes, which I believe are rarely subtle and honest in their approach, and falsy hit your emotional buttons. Mir wrote a fantastic piece of music that makes use of utterly outdated keyboards and synthesizer sweetness and schmaltz. Similarly, the cue that accomponies a memorable dance sequence is strongly supported by typical dance club music.
El Ciudadano Ilustre is a score that is dramatically very effective and even works as an ironic element in some parts of the film. The remainder of the score includes several pieces that explore different styles of music, that do not really enhance the listening experiece, but do make perfect sense in context of the film. The score was released digitally on 27th of January 2017 by Plaza Mayor.
Tracklist
1. El Ciudadano Ilustre 2:04
2. Premio Nobel 0:12
3. Daniel Mantovani 0:56
4. Barcelona 1:08
5. Reflexion 0:55
6. El Viaje 0:27
7. Llegada a Argentina 1:03
8. El Cuento 0:44
9. Salas 1:27
10. Video Homenaje 2:02
11. Paseo Hasta Tv Cooperativa 0:38
12. Disfraz 0:49
13. Mate 1:04
14. Dale 1:35
15. El Sueno 0:41
16. Mi Casa y el Cementerio 1:01
17. La Caceria 1:37
18. Muerte y Velorio 2:07
19. Presentacion Libro 0:43
20. Daniel Mantovani Rueda de Prensa 0:27
21. El Ciudadano Ilustre Final 0:41
22. Creditos Finales 3:46
Total duration: 26:07
The Argentiian-Spanish satirical dark comedy El Ciudadano Ilustre ((The Distuingished Gentlemen) is a film about a Nobel Prize Literature winner who returns home to Argentinia, after a long absence. In the past there have been written numerous of scores concerning themselves musically with the kind of Nobel prize winner presented in the film, usually persons in the field of science. These can have a certain kind of a signature sound, but literature is something else and I can't think of any strong resembles in this kind of area. Mir approaches the main protagnist theme from a universal approach, reflecting the nostalgic feeling of someone looking back. The composer wrote a simple, instantly likeable theme for piano which doesn't evolve much, but as an listening experience is pleasant to hear. If you would seperate all thematic cues from the rest of the score you could create a conceptual creation that has a rather nice dramatical flow. The themes paires with a small variety of light and dark electronics, an occasional drumloop and other additional synthesized effects. The two most deviating takes are heard as the main protagnist visitis a cemetary and during the end credits. In the cemetary scene, the theme is supported by some smally dissonant and spooky synthesizer sounds, while the end credits introduces us to an upbeat contemporary take. This last cue vagely reminds you of how composers like Craig Armstrong and Ibrahim Maalouf occasionally treat their material at the end of their scores.
In between the thematic material there are a few cues that kind of reveal the tv commercial background of the composer, as they are short and right in your face musical statements that have a very direct comical purpose. This is evident in two short rock n roll introductions and the heavily cliched royal fanfares as he receives the nobel prize. Without a doubt the best,and at the same time, worst cue of the score is the cue ''Video Homenaje''. It perfectly captures the essense of most video tributes, which I believe are rarely subtle and honest in their approach, and falsy hit your emotional buttons. Mir wrote a fantastic piece of music that makes use of utterly outdated keyboards and synthesizer sweetness and schmaltz. Similarly, the cue that accomponies a memorable dance sequence is strongly supported by typical dance club music.
El Ciudadano Ilustre is a score that is dramatically very effective and even works as an ironic element in some parts of the film. The remainder of the score includes several pieces that explore different styles of music, that do not really enhance the listening experiece, but do make perfect sense in context of the film. The score was released digitally on 27th of January 2017 by Plaza Mayor.
Tracklist
1. El Ciudadano Ilustre 2:04
2. Premio Nobel 0:12
3. Daniel Mantovani 0:56
4. Barcelona 1:08
5. Reflexion 0:55
6. El Viaje 0:27
7. Llegada a Argentina 1:03
8. El Cuento 0:44
9. Salas 1:27
10. Video Homenaje 2:02
11. Paseo Hasta Tv Cooperativa 0:38
12. Disfraz 0:49
13. Mate 1:04
14. Dale 1:35
15. El Sueno 0:41
16. Mi Casa y el Cementerio 1:01
17. La Caceria 1:37
18. Muerte y Velorio 2:07
19. Presentacion Libro 0:43
20. Daniel Mantovani Rueda de Prensa 0:27
21. El Ciudadano Ilustre Final 0:41
22. Creditos Finales 3:46
Total duration: 26:07