In Bruges
Carter Burwell
" The music is enjoyable and catchy, even after a first listening experience. "Written by Marie-Lise Van Wassenhove - Review of the regular release
The little country of Belgium was in an uproar when news got out that our very own Bruges - our most important export product next to chocolate, fries (yes, they are Belgian!), waffles and beer - had been chosen as the setting of an international film.
The result is quite enjoyable. Bruges is far more then a random setting and plays a very specific role in the story. Two hitmen, Ken (Gleeson) and Ray (Farrell), are send by their boss Harry (Fiennes) to Bruges, awaiting their next hit job. While Ken enjoys the cultural history of the city, Ray is bored to death. "F*cking Bruges" and 'a shithole' are about the only ways he describes the city. Their tranquil situation gets more complicated when they learn about their next job...
Director Martin McDonagh takes his time to outline his lead characters: strange fish in a - for them - strange environment. Composer Carter Burwell does the same thing. In the "Prologue", piano leads us with the very elegant and quiet main theme to the very elegant and quiet Bruges. The music perfectly describes the city's character: beautiful but perhaps a tiny bit boring. The theme is reprised in many other tracks, always in this very simple yet effective orchestration with flute, cello, harp and piano ("Medieval Waters", "The Last Judgment", "View from the Tower"). There's always this same tranquillity. Farell's character, Ray, gets his own theme: pondering and just as quiet as the main theme. It can first be heard in 'The Little Dead Boy': beautiful, introvert, uncertain and sad. In 'Save the Next Boy' it resembles a lullaby.
All this quiet, melancholic music makes one forget that In Bruges has been promoted as an action film. Harry's urgent theme ("Harry Walks") reminds us of that. Ray and Ken's boss decides to come to Bruges himself to finish the job. Strong piano and dark woodwinds accompany his hunt throughout the city. Piano counts down. In "Shoot Out Part 1", the theme is played out loud, with jamming electrical guitar, straight from a heavy metal song. It disrupts heavily the tranquil, melancholic atmosphere of the soundtrack, just as in the movie, where at this specific moment, the boring quietness of Bruges witnesses a deadly serious and for the city most unusual chasing scene. There is a variation on Harry's Theme, first heard in "Thugs Passing In the Night" and nicely developed as a fugue with piano and low woodwinds in "Shoot Out Part 2". The pursuit gets a cultural edge.
Next to Burwell's score, the album contains a wide variety of work by other artists, going from the drunken "Brandy Alexander" (The Walkmen) to the classical notes of Schubert's "Der Leierman". Highlight is "St John the Gambler" (Townes van Zandt), a very appropriate track when you suffer from a temporary, booze induced low self esteem.
In Bruges is perhaps not the most accessible movie. Maybe this explains its rather quiet passage through our Belgian theatres? The music is however enjoyable and catchy, even after a first listening experience. Like Bruges, it plays a specific, guiding role, leading to regret and contemplation, in a very elegant setting.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue (1.17)
2. Medieval Waters (1.40)
3. The Little Dead Boy (1.46)
4. St. John The Gambler: Townes Van Zandt (3.03)
5. The Last Judgement (1.52)
6. View From the Tower (1.04)
7. My Suicide Your Homicide (1.38)
8. Brandy Alexander: The Walkmen (2.30)
9. Save the Next Boy (1.19)
10. Ray at the Mirror (1.19)
11. Walking Bruges (0.36)
12. The Magic Frog (0.50)
13. Schubert 24. Der Leiermann * (3.40)
14. Harry Walks (1.22)
15. Dressing for Death (1.11)
16. The Kiss Walk Past (1.04)
17. On Raglan Road: The Dubliners (4.15)
18. Thugs Passing in the Night (1.13)
19. Shootout Part 1 (2.10)
20. When he's Dead (1.08)
21. Shootout Part 2 (2.44)
22. Principles (1.25)
23. I Didn't Want to Die (1.35)
24. 2000 Miles: Pretenders (3.38)
* From "Winterreise" by Franz Schubert, performed by Andreas Schmidt
Total Length: 44.19
The result is quite enjoyable. Bruges is far more then a random setting and plays a very specific role in the story. Two hitmen, Ken (Gleeson) and Ray (Farrell), are send by their boss Harry (Fiennes) to Bruges, awaiting their next hit job. While Ken enjoys the cultural history of the city, Ray is bored to death. "F*cking Bruges" and 'a shithole' are about the only ways he describes the city. Their tranquil situation gets more complicated when they learn about their next job...
Director Martin McDonagh takes his time to outline his lead characters: strange fish in a - for them - strange environment. Composer Carter Burwell does the same thing. In the "Prologue", piano leads us with the very elegant and quiet main theme to the very elegant and quiet Bruges. The music perfectly describes the city's character: beautiful but perhaps a tiny bit boring. The theme is reprised in many other tracks, always in this very simple yet effective orchestration with flute, cello, harp and piano ("Medieval Waters", "The Last Judgment", "View from the Tower"). There's always this same tranquillity. Farell's character, Ray, gets his own theme: pondering and just as quiet as the main theme. It can first be heard in 'The Little Dead Boy': beautiful, introvert, uncertain and sad. In 'Save the Next Boy' it resembles a lullaby.
All this quiet, melancholic music makes one forget that In Bruges has been promoted as an action film. Harry's urgent theme ("Harry Walks") reminds us of that. Ray and Ken's boss decides to come to Bruges himself to finish the job. Strong piano and dark woodwinds accompany his hunt throughout the city. Piano counts down. In "Shoot Out Part 1", the theme is played out loud, with jamming electrical guitar, straight from a heavy metal song. It disrupts heavily the tranquil, melancholic atmosphere of the soundtrack, just as in the movie, where at this specific moment, the boring quietness of Bruges witnesses a deadly serious and for the city most unusual chasing scene. There is a variation on Harry's Theme, first heard in "Thugs Passing In the Night" and nicely developed as a fugue with piano and low woodwinds in "Shoot Out Part 2". The pursuit gets a cultural edge.
Next to Burwell's score, the album contains a wide variety of work by other artists, going from the drunken "Brandy Alexander" (The Walkmen) to the classical notes of Schubert's "Der Leierman". Highlight is "St John the Gambler" (Townes van Zandt), a very appropriate track when you suffer from a temporary, booze induced low self esteem.
In Bruges is perhaps not the most accessible movie. Maybe this explains its rather quiet passage through our Belgian theatres? The music is however enjoyable and catchy, even after a first listening experience. Like Bruges, it plays a specific, guiding role, leading to regret and contemplation, in a very elegant setting.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue (1.17)
2. Medieval Waters (1.40)
3. The Little Dead Boy (1.46)
4. St. John The Gambler: Townes Van Zandt (3.03)
5. The Last Judgement (1.52)
6. View From the Tower (1.04)
7. My Suicide Your Homicide (1.38)
8. Brandy Alexander: The Walkmen (2.30)
9. Save the Next Boy (1.19)
10. Ray at the Mirror (1.19)
11. Walking Bruges (0.36)
12. The Magic Frog (0.50)
13. Schubert 24. Der Leiermann * (3.40)
14. Harry Walks (1.22)
15. Dressing for Death (1.11)
16. The Kiss Walk Past (1.04)
17. On Raglan Road: The Dubliners (4.15)
18. Thugs Passing in the Night (1.13)
19. Shootout Part 1 (2.10)
20. When he's Dead (1.08)
21. Shootout Part 2 (2.44)
22. Principles (1.25)
23. I Didn't Want to Die (1.35)
24. 2000 Miles: Pretenders (3.38)
* From "Winterreise" by Franz Schubert, performed by Andreas Schmidt
Total Length: 44.19