|
|
|
|
|
This Dutch family film about the cat woman Minoes was one of the biggest box office hits in the Netherlands in 2002. A link that has frequently been drawn between music and our feline friends, is jazz. There's something about the slick, sexy, gracious nature of the animal that resonates neatly within the sultry, light-aired jazz idiom. This score is no exception. Peter Vermeersch, a prominent Dutch jazz artist and composer, has provided a laidback, cocktail-lounge "Henry Mancini"-score for this film, complete with the 70's-sounding vibraphone and accordion. The jazz ensemble The Flat Earth Society performs (with Vermeersch himself on sax and clarinet), accompanied by electronic samples and sounds. The opening track "De vrachtwagen 1" is an eerie, almost dissonant piece with blaring brass outbursts midway. The title track "Minoes" is a Twin Peaks-like bossanova with a vibraphone performing the sneaky, but elegant main theme. It is orchestrated differently throughout, such as the solo double bass version in "Tibbe hoort iets". "Minoes op het dak" ("Minoes on the roof") sounds like it was taken right out of the PINK PANTHER - cautious brass on a steady pulse of high-hat percussion. The funky, bossanova-like riff returns in "De kattenpersdienst", suddenly accompanied by a female vocalist (singing dutch lyrics) towards the end. There are a couple of purified suspense-heavy chords, such as the 19-second long "De sleuteljes". But then there are also more developed "jam"-like pieces, such as "Tibbe op onderzoek". Another highlight is the longest track on the album, "De zoekactie" ("The Search Party"). It starts up percussive-wise as a distant echo of Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk" from HATARI!, then goes into a swingin' mood carried by nervous brass flurries and a funky bass line. A cool harmonica cameo of Morricone's "Once Upon a Time in the West"-theme pops up in the rhythmically unstable "Ellemeet en de katten". "Ellemeet schiet uit" is a brief, Danny Elfman-like oompah track in the vein of PEE WEE and BEETLEJUICE. "De Deospot" is a surprising heroic fanfare performed mainly by synthesizer, and proves Vermeersch's talent also outside the jazz genre. My main quibble with this soundtrack is its fragmented nature. It's bound to be that when 36 minutes are separated into 41 tracks and when the music is necessarily mickey-mousey. And although the producers have done their best to knit the tracks together, it would probably have benefitted from some reorganization, perhaps even "suitification" a la Lalo Schifrin's MANNIX. But the music is so varied and catchy that it nevertheless becomes entertaining. Performances are excellent, and this is overall an impressive film score debut by Vermeersch. I'm anxiously awaiting his next assignment.
|
