Music and the Reel

                The story is about an old man with wispy hair. He's not handsome, hasn't got a handsome son . He is not a billionaire ,hasn't got fancy sports cars. He is not a distinguished elder and his significant other cannot wait to be rid of him. Everyone thinks he's insane and not without reason. He is going by himself on a road trip but he can't drive.So he trudges on by foot on a highway under the hot sun , from one state in the USA to another. In short there are zero things intriguing about him. I am watching the movie Nebraska where Woody, the old guy I've tried to describe has decided that nothing is going to stop him from collecting his fraudulent sweepstakes prize ,worth a  million dollars. His primary goal is to buy a truck with his prize money.The movie is in black and white but there are some colorful scenes when Woody's wife comes on screen. She is a complete riot. But even she can't get this movie going.

                I am very close to giving up on the movie and turning it off but something keeps me going. I ended up watching the whole movie before i realized just what it was. Towards the end of the film Woody's son buys him the much coveted truck and he proudly drives it through the old town he grew up in. His old school mates watch him in awe . Most of them had believed that he was a loser , a bit of a fool who was good for nothing. And yet here he is , apparently a million dollars richer over night .He had done alright. Far better than any of them anyway. This is not true but Woody lets them believe it. There's a song that plays in the background . Its curiously named "Their Pie". This song has nothing exceptional about it. It lasts barely two minutes and is a violin piece. But whenever this song is played in the background of this movie, it conveys the emotion in the story so beautifully. It makes you sad when Woody is walking by himself on the highway, it makes you understand the detached expression on Woody's face as he watches his son drive and his wife rant,it fills you with warmth when you see him drive his new truck with the same detached expression but you know he's happy. It is played frequently in the movie like a leitmotif. And it lingered in my mind long after i had finished watching the movie. Many would argue that the actor who played Woody made the movie what it is(critically acclaimed), but for me it was this humble and beautiful song.

               Music can sometimes convey feelings far better than words can. This is especially evident in the world of  good cinema. When movie directors take up the daunting challenge of converting a brilliant book into a brilliant movie , they have almost always failed to live up to the expectation of the person who has read the book. This was the case with the Harry Potter movies which are just a fraction as enjoyable as the books. The same can be said for Life of Pi as well, but the incredible special effects do make it a somewhat different experience. I hadn't imagined the glowing fish to be quite so beautiful when I was reading.  The scene where Pi imagines seeing his mother's face as he stares into the water has been shown quite well too. While reading a good book, no matter how fast paced the narrative is, it gives time to the reader to enjoy the story at their own pace. Good books are for me , the most wonderful companions and the characters start seeming like close friends or family. So when a movie director tries to have his/her own way with your friends, its quite hard to accept their version of the characters. This is where i think, beautiful music comes to the rescue. If the music is just right, it can remind you of the way the way you felt when you read the book. Life of Pi has its share of stunning music which made the movie more enjoyable, my favorite being this beautiful song sung by Bombay Jayashree ..

                  One other movie that comes to mind is The Godfather part II.This is one of the few movies which is arguably as good or perhaps a tad better than the book. After watching it , what stayed with me apart from  the brilliant acting of the two male lead actors and  the engaging story is this wonderful song ,
the love theme. This movie has a lot of memorable scenes  and this song comes in the background of nearly all of them. The characters in this story are mostly in America but circumstances lead to Michael Corleone ,one of the lead characters having to move to Italy for a while. Now I have never had the opportunity to visit the country but I am sure if ever I do, this beautiful tune is going to be playing in my head at least briefly, reminding me of the Godfather. This song seems to have an Indian cousin in  "Raja ko Rani se pyar" from Bollywood's yesteryear. The two sound vaguely similar. (Is this a time worn discussion?).
                 
                  Beautiful music goes well with melodrama ,but it can do wonders to action movies too.I am not talking about the loud sounds with fast beats that often accompany car chases and  Terminator finale type scenes which have a  furious fight , inevitably between the  good guy and the bad guy. If you  think loud bang-bangs are an absolute must for action sequences, you should watch any of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movies, where action scenes are accompanied in the background by brisk violin pieces and sometimes even orchestra type singing. Then there are movies like The Italian Job that have consistently wonderful  music throughout. The most noticeable aspect about the music in this movie is the beats. Slow beats in a calm scene gradually rise to a crescendo as the story reaches its more thrilling parts. The simple and elegant sound of snapping fingers has been cleverly used in some of the songs, especially at places where there is a suspense being built up.

                  This is not to leave out some of the master pieces that came from people and places closer to home. One measly blog post will be nowhere near enough to describe the genius of AR Rahman. But here i am talking about music that lends itself for the use of telling a story. Most of Rahman's songs can do quite well for themselves without them having to feature in any movie.One song does come to mind that is suited to what i'm talking about. Anbendra Mazhayile from the film Minsara Kanavu .This is a song sung in praise of Jesus like most Christian songs, where Priya the story's main character tells a fellow church singer that when one sings only for the almighty Lord, trivial things like stage fright become irrelevant.The consummate singing and the delicate arrangement of the sounds from various instruments (Or one synthesizer?)  come together to give this song an ethereal feel, and even a non Christian Hindu like myself , with a toe on the border of Atheism , knows for a couple of minutes what it is like to have complete and unquestioning faith in God.

               Moving on from a world largely dominated by Rahman , we come to the the marvel trio of Shankar Ehsaan Loy who gave us Kholo Kholo from the movie Taare Zameen Par. In this song a kid with dyslexia , (the learning disorder about which this film was made) , sits by himself and paints an outstanding picture at the painting competition in his school. Unable to make sense of words written together , entirely incapable of adding up numbers, this child had the gift of seeing the colors of the world with the eye of a trained artist. This beautiful and inspirational song talks about opening doors to a life where one is unstoppable and  free to even fly into the sky if so desired.
               
               Music by itself may just be humankind's most brilliant creation. I conclude this fond recollection of some of my favorites by mentioning yet another one. If anyone is still in doubt whether the late Micheal Jackson deserves the title of King of Pop , they need only to listen to Heal The World , the most shining jewel in his crown. Apart from adding that little extra something to movie scenes , wonderful music can indeed heal our world.