For the eyes and the ears

Before the Rains music

• To the right is the CD cover art for the Before the Rains soundtrack. Same as the poster, but still tres jolie, no?
  


• Below is the official press release for the soundtrack from earlier this month. A reminder that you can buy Mark Kilian's music in stores from next month (presumably US only) or via iTunes now. To see what you are missing, visit the official Before the Rains site to hear a GORGEOUS sample. (It should start playing automatically.)

[...] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAKESHORE RECORDS TO RELEASE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE FILM BEFORE THE RAINS, COMPOSED BY MARK KILIAN

"Unforgettable... a hothouse of sensuality, empire, class and guilt" – Mira Nair

(June 5, 2008- Los Angeles, CA) – Lakeshore Records will release the soundtrack for BEFORE THE RAINS will be available via iTunes on June 3 and in stores on July 22. The soundtrack contains original music composed by Mark Kilian. The film was an official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival.

The South African-born Kilian came to the United States to attend the University of Southern California’s graduate program in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television. After leaving USC he began working for film composer Christopher Young where he worked as the composer’s assistant and electronic score producer for many films including SPECIES, COPYCAT, VIRTUOSITY, and HARD RAIN. He scored his first film LOVERGIRL in 1997 and would continue on to write for many feature films and TV series including KING SOLOMON’S MINES, THE ANIMATRIX, and JAKE IN PROGRESS.

In 2004 Kilian would return to South Africa to score the Oscar®-winning film TSOTSI. He then scored director Gavin Hood’s next film RENDITION, traveling to Morocco and South Africa for research and to record. The ability to blend world music, particularly South African, with modern classical and electronica has helped Kilian to carve out a niche in the film music industry. For BEFORE THE RAINS, Kilian traveled to India where he worked with many of the top musicians in the country including the legendary Indian percussionist, Sivamani.

Set in 1930s southern India against the backdrop of a growing nationalist movement, BEFORE THE RAINS is the English language debut of acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan (THE TERRORIST, ASOKA). An idealistic young Indian man (Rahul Bose) finds himself torn between his ambitions for the future and his loyalty to the past when people in his village learn of an affair between his British boss (Linus Roache) and a village woman (Nandita Das). Santosh Sivan (ASOKA) directs this film that is presented by Merchant Ivory, the renowned force behind HOWARD'S END and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY.

Merchant Ivory presents BEFORE THE RAINS, which opened in New York and Los Angeles on May 9, 2008 and in select cities on May 16, 2008. BEFORE THE RAINS original soundtrack on Lakeshore Records will be available via iTunes on June 3 and in stores on July 22. [...]

What are you waiting for?!

The Coast of Utopia

• Courtesy of Tez, we also now have access to Tom Stoppard's conference at Stanford University from May, held to celebrate and compare the Moscow and New York productions of The Coast of Utopia. The first two links are video files; the latter two audio, and they will be available from the addresses below for a month until a permanent site is created. (They will take a while to download, but it is well worth it. Goodies include words from Jack O'Brien and clips from the Russian production.) Enjoy!

Roundtable – May 22 (mov files) - Part 1, Part 2

Symposium - May 23 (mp3 files) - (Unfortunately Session 1 is currently not working) Session 2, Session 3

Thoughts and musings

• Alison Rowat has some words about Before the Rains to supplement her previous recommendation. She does acknowledge however that the film might not suit everyone's tastes:

[...] Sumptuous photography, sun setting over the British Empire...it barely needs the name in the credits to identify Santosh Sivan's...drama as part of Merchant Ivory's stable. ... There are nicely judged performances from Das and Bose. ... Fine if Merchant Ivory style is your cup of Darjeeling [...]

• The Charleston City Paper are a little less polite in their analysis.
  
  
• Blog-wise the reception today is more favourable. He Said, She Said detail the character of Laura Moores:

[...] Laura Moores, played by Jennifer Ehle brings her love and devotion and the warning that her father thinks her a fool for trusting her life to a man such as Moores. Moores takes all of this with good humor, but it is clear the pressure is building. His wife has no reason to suspect that Moores is anything but committed to her and their future. In fact, she befriends Sajani and compliments her for taking such good care of her husband and house in her absence. [...]

Evaluation-wise, they conclude:

[...] The style of this film is typical Merchant Ivory. Filmed with rich and colorful scenes where the camera lingers just long enough to pass on the flavor of the setting without making it anything more than the spice in the stew. Roache and company do a superb job of making these people come to life and compel us to know them and what they are all about. In the vin of "Painted Veil", this cautionary tale about the clash of civilizations is most note worthy for its respect for the cultures involved and an evenhanded judgement of the times. [...]

Another blogger briefly describes the film as 'great', while yet another contemplates viewing the film for one particular reason:

[...] I may go to see Before the Rains later. Jennifer Ehle is in it! [...]