MOVIE MUSIC UK

I am pleased to present the fourth installment in my ongoing series of articles looking at the best “under the radar” scores from around the world in 2019. Rather than grouping the scores on a geographical basis, this year I decided to simply present the scores in a random order, and so this fourth batch again includes reviews of seven more disparate scores all around the world – including two TV scores from Spain, a psychological thriller score from Italy, a horror movie from Morocco, a Chinese drama TV series, a comedy from Argentina, and an intimate love story from Vietnam!

ACHOURA – Romain Paillot

Achoura is a French-Moroccan horror film written and directed by Talal Selhami. It is based on a traditional celebration in the Muslim world also called “children’s night” which, in Morocco, children celebrate by gathering around bonfires. One night four children have fun by frightening one another with ghost stories and spooky pranks, and then decide to go explore a condemned – probably haunted – house. One of the children, named Samir, disappears in mysterious circumstances; the surviving children try to forget what happened, until Samir reappears 25 years later with a horrific story to tell about a child-eating monster. The film has been widely praised by horror aficionados, and that praise has extended to its score, by French composer Romain Paillot.

This is the first score by Paillot I have heard – his previous work has mostly been on documentaries, short films, and stuff for French TV – but on this evidence he has a future ahead of him, because it’s terrific. Achoura is a classic orchestral horror-thriller score that could have been written in the 1980s or 90s – it’s big, bold, bombastic, filled with themes and melody, and often descends into creative and thoroughly entertaining orchestral dissonance for the action, suspense, and horror scenes. The whole thing is anchored by a superb main theme first heard in the “Main Titles,” a flurry of dramatic Gothic strings, increasingly intense brass writing, and ghostly choral ideas that comes across like a combination of Ravel’s Bolero and Christopher Young. The main theme is present in several cues, notably in “First Flashback,” in an action arrangement for chugging strings in “The French Mansion,” for a haunting choir in “Finding My Son,” and during the sweeping “End Titles,” which gives the score a pleasing sense of competency and wholeness, but this certainly not does not mean that score is merely a one-trick idea.

There is romance in the air in “Ali and Nadia,” which is anchored by a lovely intimate piano performance. “Finding a Clue,” “The Legend of Achoura,” and the “Lullaby” all use cooing female vocal stylings to create a spooky, haunted house atmosphere that is very effective. The “Friendship Theme” features a sumptuous classical virtuoso violin performance that is a outstanding as it is unexpected. And then there is the action and horror writing, which is mostly terrific; cues like “First Encounter,” “Chased,” “In the Forest,” and “Run” explode with brass-led rhythmic intensity and thrusting, frantic string writing that is thoroughly exhilarating, and mark the young Parisian Paillot as a composer to watch.

The score for Achoura comes strongly recommended who enjoys big, powerful horror and thriller music that favors old-fashioned thematic orchestral writing rather than the more contemporary synths ‘n’ stingers style that too many modern genre scores seems to adopt. The score is available to purchase and stream from most good online retailers.

Track Listing: 1. Achoura Main Titles (2:17), 2. First Flashback (2:01), 3. Ali and Nadia (2:22), 4. Finding a Clue (2:04), 5. First Encounter (1:41), 6. The Legend of Achoura (1:21), 7. The French Mansion (1:00), 8. Chased (3:14), 9. Friendship Theme (1:28), 10. Lullaby (1:29), 11. In the Forest (2:28), 12. Run (1:44), 13. Finding My Son (3:04), 14. Homecoming (2:39), 15. Achoura End Titles (3:03). Agence Gaspard, 31 minutes 55 seconds.

ALTA MAR – Federico Jusid

Alta Mar is a Spanish-language TV series that premiered on Netflix in May 2019. It stars Ivana Baquero, Alejandra Onieva, Jon Kortajarena, and – somewhat bizarrely – Matthew Modine, and follows the adventures of two Spanish sisters in the 1940s who, following the death of their father, travel on a luxury cruise ship from Spain to Brazil and become embroiled in investigating various mysterious deaths that occur during the voyage. The score for the show is by the astonishingly talented Argentine composer Federico Jusid, and is yet another installment in the incredible series of amazing TV scores he has written over the past decade.

As one might expect, given that the score is both a period piece and an adventure-murder-mystery on the high seas, Jusid scores Alta Mar with a full orchestra, multiple themes, and action and romance a-plenty. The score contains numerous highlights, the first of which is the opening cue, “Clocks,” which has a tick-tock percussive beat and a sense of movement and lightness in its orchestrations that is just captivating; the hooting woodwinds, intricate rhythmic ideas, delicate string writing, and precision and elegance reminds me very much of Alexandre Desplat – this sense of relentless rhythm, movement, and the passing of time is something that re-occurs throughout the score. “Lost on the High Seas” is a little more subdued and mysterious, but becomes much more intense and dramatic and develops, with a noticeably arresting fading brass idea and shifts in and out of the music.

“Dima’s Dream” is more conventionally romantic, with a restrained and elegant woodwind-based theme and some subtle allusions to classical Strauss waltzes, while “Revelations” and “The Search” both have a bold, pompous attitude, and pick up a turbulent head of steam as they develop. “Enigmas” is old-fashioned in an Agatha Christie/Hercule Poirot sort of way, playful and prancing, with a harpsichord as the central focus of the instrumental ensemble. The conclusive “A Day of Light” is pretty and effervescent, gently romantic, and wholly appealing. Interestingly, some of the inflections in the music also seem to works in some subtle jazz, especially in the phrasing of the pianos and the brass, which may allude to the opulent appointments of the cruise ship and its well-heeled passengers.

The series of scores Jusid has written for Spanish TV, beginning with Hispania in 2011 and encompassing subsequent works like Isabel, Gran Reserva, Carlos Rey Emperador, Tiempos de Guerra, and La Catedral del Mar, is almost unparalleled, and Alta Mar now joins that group. Unfortunately the score for Alta Mar is not available for commercial purchase – like he did with Hernán, Jusid put this 20 minute promotional album together specifically for awards consideration purposes. As usual, this is where I implore specialist soundtrack label producers to find away to release a longer version of this to the public, because it’s too good to be overlooked.

Track Listing: 1. Clocks (3:06), 2. Lost on the High Seas (3:02), 3. Dima’s Dream (1:50), 4. Revelations (1:50), 5. The Search (2:42), 6. Enigmas (1:04), 7. Romance (2:00), 8. Unveiling the Truth (0:57), 9. A Day of Light (2:28). Promo, 18 minutes 59 seconds.

DOCTOR OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE – Mark Chait

The breadth and diversity of the film music world continues to astound me, and this is no better illustrated by the career of composer Mark Chait – born in South Africa, raised in Australia, educated in the United States, and now one of the premier composers for prestigious TV dramas in China. After blowing me away with Frontier of Love in 2018, he has done so again with his music for the acclaimed series Lao Zhong Yi – better known as Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine – which premiered on TV in China in early 2019. The show is a historical drama set a the beginning of the 20th century against the backdrop of massive cultural and political change in China, and follows the story of Weng Quanhai, a traditional doctor who faces struggles and difficulties as more modern ‘western’ medical practices start to become more accepted in his country.

Chait’s score is absolutely spectacular – fully orchestral, filled with themes, brimming with emotion – and is easily the equal of Frontier of Love, for whose who know that score. The main theme, as heard in the opening “Life of Doctor Weng,” is a gorgeous lament full of dramatic sweep and passion, and is anchored by a series of beautiful string and piano passages augmented by traditional Chinese instruments, including the an erhu, the pipa lute, guzheng dulcimer, and dizi flute. It has a haunting, timeless quality that I just adore; anyone who knows me knows that the fusion between a western orchestra and oriental soloists is one of my favorite sounds in all of film music.

Thankfully, the quality of the opening cue does not drop for the entire running time; Chait offers a multitude of different themes, different emotional shades, and even some moments of pure drama and action, which keeps the entire score interesting and engaging. There are dramatic tones to cues like “The Trial,” “Dangerous Times,” and chorally-enhanced “The Struggle During Occupation”; powerful passion and intensity in “The Marriage” and the stunning piano-focused “The Passion to Heal”; dream-like atmospherics in the lovely “The Grace of Baoxiu”; soaring beauty in the choral finale of “The Mercy Plea”; and so much more. And, throughout it all, Chait continually finds interesting ways to bring the Chinese instruments to the fore, allowing them to shine – listen for the prominent erhu in the aforementioned “The Marriage,” or the gorgeous main theme duet between guzheng and piano in “Lamenting Lost Love”. It all finishes with a lovely Chinese-language song, “The Doctor,” performed with operatic grace by a female vocalist and a children’s choir.

Mark Chait is quickly becoming a composer whose music is an instant acquisition for me; he’s that good, and that consistent. Not only that, Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine is yet more proof – as if more proof were needed – that there is still a staggering wealth of beautiful, thematic, emotionally resonant orchestral music being written for film and television out there in the world, if only people would take the effort to go out and look for it. Thankfully, in this age of the internet, it really takes no effort at all – the score is available to purchase as a digital download via Milan Records, and most good online music retailers.

Track Listing: 1. Life of Doctor Weng (2:38), 2. The Trial (3:10), 3. The Marriage (2:58), 4. The Grace of Baoxiu (2:45), 5. The Passion to Heal (4:51), 6. The Mercy Plea (4:23), 7. Strange Bedfellows (3:39), 8. Summoned to Peking Opera (2:19), 9. The Seduction (4:12), 10. Dangerous Times (1:48), 11. Lamenting Lost Love (4:19), 12. Surviving the Trade War (3:23), 13. Lies, Deception and Love (3:23), 14. The Competition (3:55), 15. Yearning For Him (1:25), 16. The Imperial Physician (3:16), 17. Choosing a Successor (3:00), 18. The Struggle During Occupation (5:25), 19. Protecting the Temple of Secrets (4:58), 20. Epilogue/The Sacrifice (3:20), 21. The Doctor (3:35). Milan Records, 72 minutes 53 seconds.

EL CUENTRO DE LAS COMADREJAS – Emilio Kauderer

El Cuentro de las Comadrejas – also known as The Weasel’s Tale – is a Spanish language comedy film from Argentina directed by Juan José Campanella, and is a remake of the popular 1970s film Los Muchachos de Antes No Usaban Arsénico. It is set in Buenos Aires and tells the story of Mara, a retired actress from the golden age of Argentine cinema, who shares a mansion in the country with her husband, and two old friends (a screenwriter and a director). One day a young couple turns up on the doorstep seeking to persuade Mara to sell the house for a real estate development; when she refuses, the couple starts trying to swindle the house from under her, and Mara and the other inhabitants have to come together to save their home – with hilarious results. The film stars Graciela Borges, Oscar Martínez, and Luis Brandoni, and has a score by the Los Angeles-based Argentine composer Emilio Kauderer.

Kauderer has been scoring movies since 1980, but is still best known internationally for his score for the 2009 thriller The Secret in Their Eyes (and its American remake); it’s always been a surprise to me that he doesn’t have the same sort of career as an Alberto Iglesias or a Roque Baños, because he’s proven on numerous occasions to be absolutely their equal. The score for El Cuentro de las Comadrejas is a perfect example of that; it’s a light, tuneful, captivating comedy score that eschews anything overtly ‘amusing’ or mickey-mousey, and instead presents a series of lovely orchestral passages that celebrate the cinematic Golden Age. The “Main Theme-Waltz” is a perfect example of that style – lush, appealing, sweeping, wonderful.

“Partido de Pool” is actually a little sinister-sounding, and is filled with darkly elegant and hesitantly romantic writing for piano, strings, and oboes that reminds me a little of Jerry Goldsmith’s theme from Basic Instinct. “Regresa Tarde” is a short, but gorgeous piece of classic melodrama for strings, piano, and solo cello that leaves a very positive mark; on the other hand, “Que Torpeza” is a little more sultry and jazzy, a lithe dance-like piece with a tango beat, which makes use of a serpentine woodwind melody underpinned with a jazz combo arrangement.

The “Love Theme” again adopts a tone filled with old world charm, and feaures a gorgeous oboe central melody surrounded by delicate pianos and warm, inviting strings. Although the theme is pretty, there is actually a little hint of melancholy and regret to it to, as if the lead character Mara and her husband are sensing the passage of time, and their own age, in comparison to their relationship. The finale, “El Antidoto,” is much more serious than one might imagine, and actually becomes quite intense towards the end, with a rapid rhythmic bed of strings, throbbing rapped percussion, stark piano chords, and woodwind writing that heightens the tension. Not at all comedic – but still very effective!

Unfortunately the score for El Cuentro de las Comadrejas is not available for commercial purchase – Kauderer put this short promotional album together specifically for awards consideration purposes – but if you ever get a chance to hear it it’s well worth exploring as one of the most fun and musically satisfying comedy scores of 2019.

Track Listing: 1. Main Theme-Waltz (1:07), 2. Partido de Pool (3:16), 3. Regresa Tarde (0:39), 4. Que Torpeza (2:20), 5. Love Theme (2:44), 6. El Antidoto (4:08). Promo, 14 minutes 17 seconds.

HERNÁN – Federico Jusid

Hernán is a Spanish-language TV series which premiered on Amazon in November 2019. It’s a historical epic action-drama about Hernán Cortés, the Spanish explorer and conquistador who landed in what is now Mexico in the year 1519 and subsequently engaged in a war with King Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, which ultimately led to the fall of the city of Tenochtitlan, and the eventual end of the Aztec Empire. The show stars Óscar Jaenada as Cortes and Dagoberto Gama as Moctezuma, and has an original score by the reigning musical king of Spanish television, Federico Jusid.

Considering the subject matter – the show deals with such weight topics a the Spanish inquisition, the spread of Catholicism, colonial oppression, war, and the cultural genocide of the Aztecs – the score is much darker and more dramatic than many of Jusid’s more beloved TV scores seem to be. Right from the opening cue, “Inquisition,” Jusid gives the score an appropriately ominous feeling, with lots of low, churning string and portentous tolling bells. The theme for “Hernán Cortés” himself feels a little like Ramin Djawadi’s Winterfell theme from Game of Thrones, coming across as thoughtful, subdued, but also a little sinister, as if the weight of destiny is upon the entire string section. It begins with the cellos mourning dolefully, but as it develops it introduces some unexpected and unusual textures, not least of which is a repetitive, minimalist overlapping vocal idea that has a touch of Philip Glass about it.

The glory of the New World is captured with the spectacular, celebratory “Encounters,” a powerful volley of brass fanfares and choral outbursts that give Moctezuma’s domain the appropriate amount of regal grandeur. This is tempered by more tribal woodwind writing and prominent percussion in the cue’s second half, a style which is explored further in the more exotic and threatening “The Empire,” the more restrained “Moctezuma,” and especially the action-packed, turbulent “Fighting the Aztecs”. Fans of James Horner’s score for Apocalypto will particularly appreciate the rhythmic writing, unusual percussive ideas, and creative orchestrations in that latter cue.

Elsewhere, “Ixé – Dark Visions” sees Jusid heading into dissonance territory with a series of string phrases that collide and overlap, twisted and tortured, while “Wolves” is a gorgeous lament for the fate of the Aztc people, anchored by a searingly beautiful female soprano solo and a haunting cello performance. The conclusive “The Sacrifice” is as dramatic and nightmarish as one might expect, a powerful rhytjmic base and swirling, anguished-sounding string and synths coming together to create a riveting portrait of death, religion, and culture, all wrapped up in one.

Unfortunately the score for Hernán is not available for commercial purchase – like he did with Alta Mar, Jusid put this 30 minute promotional album together specifically for awards consideration purposes. As usual, this is where I implore specialist soundtrack label producers to find away to release a longer version of this to the public, because it’s too good to be overlooked.

Track Listing: 1. Inquisition (1:50), 2. Hernán Cortés (4:00), 3. Encounters (2:32), 4. The Empire (4:10), 5. Fighting the Aztecs (2:44), 6. Moctezuma (2:00), 7. Oci Ciorne (1:44), 8. Ixé – Dark Visions (3:18), 9. Wolves (3:14), 10. The Sacrifice (3:28). Promo, 29 minutes 00 seconds.

L’UOMO DEL LABIRINTO – Vito Lo Re

L’Uomo del Labirinto [Into the Labyrinth] is an Italian horror-thriller directed by Donato Carrisi and starring Toni Servillo, Valentina Bellè, and (bizarrely) Dustin Hoffman. The film tells the story of Samantha, a young girl who is abducted on the way to school by what appears to be a giant rabbit. Fifteen years later, she’s in a hospital being tended by a doctor (Hoffman), who is trying to help her remember what happened to her: slowly, Samantha’s begins to have memories of a labyrinth, an underground prison with no way out, where someone forced her to play games and solve riddles and puzzles. It’s a bizarre plot that sounds like something Dario Argento might have tackled in the 1970s, but one very positive thing about it is the fact that it inspired a superb score by the talented young Italian composer Vito Lo Re.

Lo Re impressed me a couple of years ago with his score for the contemporary thriller La Ragazza Nella Nebbia, and L’Uomo del Labirinto has impressed me very much again. It’s a dark, moody, unexpectedly romantic score which takes its influence from the classic Italian giallo scores of the 1970s and 80s – you easily can imagine someone like Pino Donaggio, or perhaps Fabio Frizzi, writing something like this – in that it drips with Gothic atmosphere, uses the orchestra in interesting ways, and is filled with themes and melody. The opening cue, “Fifteen Years Ago,” sets things up perfectly, with an almost dirge-like piece for strings and tolling bells, hinting at the darkness to come. This moodiness continues throughout the score; cues like “The Bar,” “Genko at Home,” and “He Died Twenty Minutes Ago” shift the focus to the piano, while “The Letter” and “The Dark Infected Him” introduce some subtle electronic enhancements. Perhaps the most interesting iteration of the theme comes in “The Picture,” where the main melody is carried by a solo female soprano voice.

Occasionally, Lo Re really ramps up the intensity and purposefully works his way into the world of suspense, and even light horror. Cues like “Back into the Labyrinth,” “There Was a Door,” and “Linda Dies” use rattling woodwinds, low cellos, and eerie synth tones to create a disturbing atmosphere; this often combines with a slightly creepy sounding motif for a lilting flute, solo soprano, piano, and chimes which is first introduced in the “Bunny” and at times is quite beautiful, but isn’t as innocent as it would may seem. This combination of the child-like and the disturbing is a recurring idea throughout the score, and is Lo Re’s clever way of depicting the torment that Samantha goes through at the hands (paws?) of her lapine captor. Later cues like “The Cat” and the quite disturbing “The Game of the Dark” are further examples of these ideas.

It’s only in the finale – cues like “The Monster’s Room” and “Escaping the Labyrinth” – that Lo Re allows anything approaching heroism or positivity to emerge, when he brings the brass section of the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra out into the open and allows a little bit of light to permeate the gloom. Some of the horn writing, especially in that latter cue, has a hint of Christopher Young’s Hellraiser scores about it, which is a very good thing indeed. The conclusive pair “Into the Labyrinth” and “Genko’s Theme” provide the most orchestrally dynamic and satisfying statements of the main themes, and finish with a lovely final flourish from the female soprano voice.

L’Uomo del Labirinto is a slow burn score, never given over to bombastic orchestral histrionics; instead, it gradually turns the screw, creating a suffocating atmosphere of oppression and dread that, while at times very beautiful, nevertheless remains a powerful musical depiction of a young woman’s torment at the hands of a psychopath. It’s impressive stuff from Vito Lo Re, tasteful and appropriate, and is yet another example of why he is one of the most interesting young composers to emerge from Italian cinema in quite some time. The score is available as a CD from Plaza Mayor Records, and as a digital download from all the usual online outlets.

Track Listing: 1. Fifteen Years Ago (2:39), 2. The Bar (2:05), 3. The Letter (2:20), 4. Back Into The Labyrinth (5:44), 5. The Swamp (1:10), 6. Bunny (2:02), 7. In the City (1:53), 8. There Was a Door (4:25), 9. The Comics Man (1:51), 10. Back in the City (0:36), 11. Genko at Home (2:14), 12. Linda Dies (3:53), 13. The Cat (0:55), 14. The Baby (1:17), 15. The Hotel Room (3:38), 16. The Dark Infected Him (2:23), 17. The Picture (1:07), 18. Bunny’s Lair (2:26), 19. The Game of the Dark (1:35), 20. Paul Macinsky (5:37), 21. The Pizza Man (2:18), 22. Genko Dies (0:49), 23. He Wants to Get Her Back (1:50), 24. He Died Twenty Minutes Ago (0:38), 25. The Monster’s Room (3:03), 26. Escaping from the Labyrinth (5:55), 27. Into the Labyrinth (3:07), 28. Genko’s Theme (1:54). Plaza Mayor, 69 minutes 37 seconds.

MẮT BIẾC – Christopher Wong

Mắt Biếc is the latest smash hit Vietnamese film from director Victor Vu. Adapted from the novel of the same name by bestselling children’s author Nguyen Nhat Anh, it’s a beautiful romance about two teenagers, Ngan and Lan, who fall in love during their school years, but kept apart by social conventon – Lan is from a rich family, Ngan is not. Years later, when Lan is betrayed by her wealthy husband, she seeks to rekindle her relationship with her childhood friend. The score, as is always the case, is by the wonderful Chinese-American composer Christopher Wong, who has now worked with Vu on more than half a dozen films including Passport to Love, Sword of the Assassin, Vengeful Heart, and Yellow Flowers on Green Grass. Vu’s films are so popular in Vietnam that Wong is, essentially, the John Williams of Vietnamese cinema, having scored the majority of the highest-grossing Vietnamese films of all time.

The best thing the Wong-Vu collaboration is the fact that Vu always allows Wong to reach for thematic, beautiful heights. In all their past films together Wong has been inspired to write music which feels timeless; it has a western sensibility in terms of instrumental approach and dramatic application, but it also seems to have something indefinably Vietnamese about it – the combination of Asian and French influences, a love of simple melody, direct emotion, possibly a hint of traditional regional folk music. Mắt Biếc is another one of those.

The main theme, as heard in the opening “The School,” is pretty and light and appealing, and makes use of lush strings, delicate pianos, and woodwind writing that puts me in mind of 1990s Thomas Newman or Alan Silvestri. This main theme runs through the entirety of the score, acting as a recurring thematic identity for Ngan and Lan, and mirroring the state of their relationship at every turn; subsequent statements in cues such as innocent “First Sight,” “Growing Up,” the more dramatic “Missed Chances,” “Lives Apart,” and “What I’ve Lost” are especially poignant.

The score’s second main theme if not by Wong, but is actually by Vietnamese singer-songwriter and composer Phan Mạnh Quỳnh. It comes from his song “Có Chàng Trai Viết Lên Cây,” which appears on the album in the finale cue, and is just delightful. It’s a lively, sunny, playful melody usually heard on acoustic guitar, which initially emerges in “First Sight” and then plays a prominent role in subsequent tracks such as “Festival,” “Growing Up,” and many others. I even like the vocal version – I haven’t got a clue what Quỳnh is singing about, but there’s something about the phonology I found appealing, and the melody is charming and captivating.

Thankfully, Wong allows the score to develop in different directions too. For example, “Smiles” is a comedic piece that explores the upbeat nature of childhood friendships with amusing woodwind writing, while “Festival” underpins the string writing with resounding percussion hits. Not only that, Wong’s regular collaborators, Garrett Crosby and Ian Rees, also get a few moments to shine. Crosby’s quartet of cues – “Fighting for Her,” “Alone at School,” “Motherhood,” and “Like a Father” – are very different, and range from a light-jazz action cue with a sparkling flute solo in the former, to introspective piano writing, to lamenting string and woodwind combinations in “Motherhood” that are just sublime. Meanwhile, Rees’s trio comprises the cues “Dreamy Eyes,” “Almost Kissed,” and “Rejected Daughter”; the former includes a beautiful piece for solo acoustic guitar, piano, and playful woodwinds that really shines, while the latter is an introspective and fragile piece for strings, piano, and a moody solo oboe that is quite lovely.

The final four cues, comprising “Wish We Were Together,” “Standing Close,” “Leaving,” and “The Train,” is where Wong really pulls out all the stops, presenting both of the main themes at their lushest and most emotional. “The Train” is especially magnificent, and contains several moments within it where Wong allows the music to rise, take center stage, and be wholly unrestrained and overwhelmingly romantic. The way the music slowly grows from a simple, unadorned piano melody, and gradually encompasses the entire orchestra, is just outstanding. In fact, overall, Mắt Biếc may very well be the best score that Chris Wong has written for Victor Vu, and you can find out for yourself by purchasing the score from Moviescore Media or via your preferred digital download site. I suppose that, now that I’ve made their collaborative nickname a ‘thing’ I could close by saying: To Wong Vu, Thanks for Everything, Jon Broxton!

Track Listing: 1. The School (2:46), 2. First Sight (2:12), 3. Smiles (2:05), 4. Fighting for Her (0:52), 5. Dreamy Eyes (1:53), 6. Festival (2:21), 7. Growing Up (2:27), 8. Alone at School (3:31), 9. Missed Chances (2:06), 10. Almost Kissed (2:13), 11. Motherhood (2:06), 12. Like a Father (2:03), 13. Lives Apart (1:50), 14. A Familiar Place (1:45), 15. Rejected Daughter (2:10), 16. What I’ve Lost (1:39), 17. Wish We Were Together (2:25), 18. Standing Close (3:01), 19. Leaving (2:34), 20. The Train (5:29), 21. Có Chàng Trai Viết Lên Cây (performed by Phan Mạnh Quỳnh) (5:05). Moviescore Media, 52 minutes 48 seconds.