En We Vliegen door de Dagen

In January 2025, the Dutch TV film En We Vliegen door de Dagen (2024) premiered on a public channel in the Netherlands. It deals with the taking of a person's life upon request. The film centers on Jade's internal conflict while showcasing the inseparable friendship between Kaitlynn and Jade, with the understanding that Kaitlynn's suffering will eventually come to an end. The film displays dramatic restraint in the progression towards the inevitable salvation.

The score by composer Tjeerd Nijhof is wonderful in supporting the emotional transition.

Very early on, there are two brief moments that strike a very special chord with me, although they are not pivotal; Jade softly sings some lyrics to Kaitlynn. They serve to show their strong connection and how Jade caringly communicates with Kaitlynn as a means to provide support. Both small scenes are intimate and warm, supported by low-key, atmospheric music created by the use of the flageolet guitar technique. The emptiness it creates then becomes an appropriate red-wire musical idea connected to the development of story and characters and is further enhanced by the resonance of piano plucking. Both elements combined provide a consistent alteration of otherwise pure sounds: a second appropriate red wire to the film.

There is much restraint in what the score tries to establish and was created through discussion between the composer and director. They aimed for something unadorned, but not devoid of any emotional direction at all. In fact, in all its subtlety, using resonance and emptiness, it consequently creates a feasible and befitting, beautiful emotion, just right for the film. However, as the film progresses, so does the score with a set of more dynamic cues, which almost cross the thin line. The reasons it does not have much to do with preserving and presenting more them through the already established musical DNA. Similarly, the song composed by Nijhof and performed by A. Johansson is in symbiosis with the score and does not become mawkish to a scene in which the girls share a joyous moment.



(28-02-2025)