Archive
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2014, Part 1
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
I’m pleased to present the latest installment in my on-going series of articles looking at the best under-the-radar scores from around the world.
This article, the first of 2014, explores seven outstanding scores from recent months, including an epic Japanese historical television drama about the life of a brilliant military strategist navigating the turbulent world of 16th-century feudal Japan, a Vietnamese drama-thriller about an aging actress whose desperate attempt to restore her fading beauty leads to tragedy and a sinister cover-up, an inspirational Taiwanese sports drama telling the true story of a multicultural high school baseball team that overcame enormous odds to compete for the Japanese national championship in 1931, a Vietnamese supernatural thriller about a young heart-transplant recipient haunted by visions connected to the mysterious family of her donor, a spectacular Japanese period action film in which a former assassin is called upon to prevent a ruthless enemy from overthrowing the newly established Meiji government, a somber samurai revenge drama about a loyal warrior who spends thirteen years hunting the men responsible for his master’s death, and a beautiful Studio Ghibli animated drama about a lonely young girl whose friendship with the mysterious Marnie gradually reveals an unexpected connection to her own past.
Already in 2014 I have reviewed Christopher Young’s magnificent score for the Chinese epic fantasy adventure The Monkey King, and Jo-Yeong Wook’s score for the revisionist samurai action film Kundo: Age of the Rampant. You can read my review of The Monkey King here, my review of Kundo: Age of the Rampant here.
KANO – Naoki Sato
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Kano is a Taiwanese sports drama movie, about the Kano baseball team from southern Taiwan, which comprised of Japanese, Taiwanese and aboriginal players, and overcame extreme odds to represent the island in the 1931 Japanese High School Baseball Championship, at a time when Taiwan was still under Japanese rule. It’s an important and famous story in Taiwanese sporting culture – a classic example of an overachieving underdog – with a similar sense of ‘triumph over adversity’ to American films like Rudy, The Natural or Miracle. The film is directed by Umin Boya, and has a score by the popular and acclaimed Japanese composer Naoki Sato. Read more…
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