Music as a tool in pushing film narrative is more often than not effective as one can imagine. Who can’t associate the tragedy of holocaust to that Oscar-winning score written by the greatJohn Williams featuring Itzhak Perlman on violin? Or John Barry’s music for the romance between the characters of Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour in Somewhere In Time?
“I always like using music dramatically as a character in the film,” director Parel Pawlikowski was quoted as saying in reference to his work for Cold War, adding, “Music became the holy spirit of the whole story.”
I had the chance to see and hear for myself what he meant as the film was screened for the press in line with this year’s Cine Europa which opens tomorrow, Sept. 20 at Cinema 1 of Greenbelt 3 in Makati City. From the get-go, the movie offers musical strains that should keep viewers glued, whether coming from classical piano playing or some raw voice wailing sincerely from the heart.
Cold War, described as a passionate love story of a couple set against the ruins of post-World War II Europe, is “an impossible love story in impossible times.” Yet music crucially made that all possible.
If the movie serves as hint of what to see in Cine Europa 22, then music should be counted as vital ingredient to the festival run. All in all 13 movies are lined up by the EU Delegation to the Philippines and embassies of various European nations involved. Film viewers will be treated to a five-day free admission and first-come, first-served festival that includes interesting entries from Italy (Being Leonardo da Vinci, An Impossible Interview), United Kingdom (Mary Shelley), and France (Tour de France) which stars a 20-year-old rapper whose trip to Paris is expected to conclude with a concert of reconciliation. Norway’s The King’s Choice may likely take cues from that Schindler’s soundtrack as it is based on a true story where the Norwegian King is poised to choose between surrendering to or getting killed by the Nazi-run German armed forces.
“Cine Europa is a distinctive way to showcase European cultural diversity and to open up opportunities in the cultural and creative industries,” related Thomas Wiersing from the EU Delegation.
The festival valued by organizers as a “most influential cultural diplomacy tool” is scheduled to go to the provinces of Bohol, Iloilo, Cebu, Naga, Palawan, and Leyte. It is said that it wants to reach out to more Filipinos so it is making a run to Bohol in Oct. 11 to 12.
Poland Embassy’s Jaroslaw Szczepankiewicz informed screening guests of how a touching Filipino film (Quezon’s Game) mirrored the Cine Europa entries which for him reflect the same values of humanity, friendship, and hospitality. “We want to motivate people to show compassion, to hope and survive, and promote peace.”