Home-->m-vp-movies-eng-000-->m-vp-movies-019-eng
A film composed by Ennio Morricone - 019eng
FA1503 En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion) / Darling Buds of May
Chronology No.
FA1503
The music page in the site
IMDB
Chinese IMDB
Note
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion) / Darling Buds of May
It is shown that the film was composed by Ennio Morricone in the film
It is shown that the film was composed by Ennio Morricone in the film
001-Basic info (IMDB , WIKI)

Director: Christian Carion
Writers: Andrew Bampfield, Christian Carion, Laure Irrmann
Stars: August Diehl, Olivier Gourmet, Mathilde Seigner |

Cast (in credits order)

August Diehl ... Hans
Olivier Gourmet Olivier Gourmet ...Paul
Mathilde Seigner Mathilde Seigner ... Mado
Alice Isaaz Alice Isaaz ... Suzanne
Matthew Rhys Matthew Rhys ... Percy
Joshio Marlon Joshio Marlon ... Max
Thomas Schmauser Thomas Schmauser ... Arriflex
Laurent Gerra Laurent Gerra ... Albert
Jacques Bonnaffé Jacques Bonnaffé ... Roger

Franck Andrieux ... Capitaine francais
László Breiding László Breiding ... Assistant Arriflex (as László Branko Breiding)
Xavier Brossard Xavier Brossard ... Soldat Britannique Boves #1
Sebastian Fischer Sebastian Fischer ... Officier allemand
Johannes Oliver Hamm Johannes Oliver Hamm
Mike Hoffmann Mike Hoffmann ... Main Gestapo Agent

See full cast

Produced by
Production Co: Nord Ouest films, Pathé See more
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro
Runtime: 114 min
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Genres: Drama | History

Official Sites: Official site for the movie
Country: France
Language: French | German | English
Release Date: 4 November 2015 (France) See more
Music by Ennio Morricone
Also Known As (AKA)
World-wide (alternative title) (English title) Darling Buds of May
Storyline
In may 1940, the German troops enter France. Frightened by the progress of the enemy, the people of a small village of Pas-de-Calais decide on the recommendations of the prefecture, to give up everything to go on the road, fleeing to the coast. Among them, there is Paul, the village mayor. He led the group, seeks to maintain a minimum of order and republican spirit in this nomadic life. Mado, his wife, plays music trying to find the fragrance of those that took place in his coffee in the village. Suzanne, a young teacher, goes to meet to choose the least congested route. And she especially supports a small German boy, Max, 8 years old, whose father Hans was arrested after the declaration of war. During the Arras attack, residents are released from prison and abandoned in the deserted city. Hans managed to flee the city, accompanied by a Scottish officer, Percy, whose entire unit died under German bullets. These two will travel together. Hans seeking to recover his son who fled the village, Percy hoping to reach the sea, and find a boat back to England. . (IMDB)
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (English: Darling Buds of May) is a 2015 French historical drama film directed by Christian Carion. It stars August Diehl and Olivier Gourmet in lead roles, and was released on 4 November 2015. The film score was composed by Ennio Morricone. (WIKI)
 
'Joyeux Noel' director Christian Carion’s drama takes place at the start of WWII. (Here)

A wartime drama that’s more about the retreat than the offensive, Christian Carion’s Come What May (En mai, fais ce qu’il te plait) depicts a few of the many lives upended when Germany attacked France in May 1940, forcing 8 million citizens to flee the invading Nazi army in what would become one of the greatest population exoduses in modern history.

It’s an impressive backdrop to what’s otherwise a polished period piece without much of a bite to it, hitting all the right notes but doing nothing that feels exciting or out of the ordinary. Like last year’s similarly themed Suite Francaise, May stands to underperform in theaters, though its subject and setting should help push it across French borders into art houses and VOD slots overseas.

Carion is no stranger to making historical frescoes with broad middlebrow appeal: His 2005 feel-goodish WWI flick, Joyeux Noel, grossed over $1 million in the U.S. and was nominated for a foreign-language Oscar. And his underrated 2009 Cold War thriller, Farewell, featured strong performances from two lauded filmmakers in their own right: Emir Kusturica (Underground) and Guillaume Canet (Tell No One).

In Come What May, the writer-director (working with co-scribes Laure Irrmann and Andrew Bampfield) attempts to tell a sprawling story on an intimate scale, following a handful of characters on the run from Wehrmacht forces as they blaze through the Ardennes en route to a quick victory (France surrendered less than 45 days after the invasion, falling under Nazi rule until December 1944).

The film focuses on a German resistant, Hans (August Diehl), and his son, Max (Joshio Marlon), who flee their homeland to the pastoral fields of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, only to find their new enclave evacuated when war heads their way. With a mayor, Paul (Olivier Gourmet), and schoolteacher, Suzanne (Alice Isaaz), leading the charge, the townsfolk pack their belongings and slowly make the journey — by foot and horse-drawn carriage — to the west, with the Nazis hot on their tail.

In the meantime, Hans has landed in prison (for reasons first explained in a vague montage sequence), but is set free as soon as the Germans invade. He crosses paths with a Scottish captain, Percy (Matthew Rhys), whose entire squad is gunned down by Reich soldiers, leaving the two men to fend for themselves as Hans sets out in search of his son, and Percy in search of the retreating British army.

Carion systematically crosscuts between the parallel storylines, following Max and the villagers making their way toward the coastal city of Dieppe, with Hans and Percy only a few steps behind them. Both teams face major obstacles along the road: The town caravan is attacked by German bombers (in one of the film’s more striking set pieces), while the pair of wanderers — who clash at first but eventually warm up to one another — engage in deadly combat with the enemy.

The emotional arcs are easy to telegraph and far from groundbreaking: Hans tries against all odds to reunite with his son, while Paul tries to do what’s best for his constituents amid the Nazi onslaught. Suzanne winds up becoming a surrogate mom to Max, shedding tears when he whips out family photos, while the Scotsman Percy somehow finds himself lugging a set of bagpipes across the countryside — and finally using them during an extremely overstated standoff with the bad guys.

There are scattered moments that resonate, such as when the caravan runs into a battalion of Panzers, the tanks ripping through fields and leaving jagged treads in their wake. But other scenes come across as bloated or phony, including a subplot about a pretentious German filmmaker (Thomas Schmauser) documenting the French retreat, the man depicted as a pure caricature of evil Nazi artistry.

The result is a film that never feels as intense as it should, even if committed performances — especially from the non-Frenchies Diehl (Inglourious Basterds) and Rhys (co-star on The Americans) — take the characters farther than they may have appeared on the page. Yet the overall effect is still too bland to cause a real stir, and Carion concludes the long voyage pretty much in the way you expect.

With a budget of €15 million ($16 million), May has the slick, sun-dappled look of many a Euro period piece, using its setting to the fullest — including enough picturesque vistas to make you want to move to northern France, Nazis or not. Along with Pierre Cottereau’s handsome visuals, a score by Ennio Morricone offers up comforting melodies, accompanying a movie that retreats way too often toward safe cinematic ground.

Production companies: Nord-Ouest Films, Pathe, France 2 Cinema, Appaloosa Distribution, Une Hirondelle Productions

Cast: August Diehl, Olivier Gourmet, Mathilde Seigner, Alice Isaaz, Matthew Rhys, Joshio Marlon

Director: Christian Carion

Screenwriters: Christian Carion, Laure Irrmann, Andrew Bampfield

Producers: Christophe Rossignon, Philip Boeffard

Executive producers: Eve Francois-Machuel, Stephane Riga

Director of photography: Pierre Cottereau

Production designer: Jean-Michel Simonet

Costume designer: Monic Parelle

Editor: Laure Gardette

Composer: Ennio Morricone

Casting directors: Susie Figgis, Anne Walcher, Franziska Aigner-Kuhn

Sales agent: Pathe International

No rating, 114 minutes (Here)

 

Director Christian Carion’s last two films were based on true stories and his latest, En mai, fais ce qu’il te pla?t follows the same trend. The award winning Joyeux Noel recounted the extraordinary events of December 1914 when opposing soldiers on the Western Front lay down their arms to celebrate Christmas together. L’Affaire Farewell went back to the height of the Cold War with the tale of a French and a KGB spy who smuggled Soviet secrets to the West. En mai fais ce qu’il te pla?t is also set against the backdrop of a war. But this pseudo-Western, complete with wide open spaces and horse-drawn wagons, fails to deliver the same emotion punch as Carion’s earlier work. It’s undoubtedly full of good intentions yet lacks dramatic tension or any real sense of purpose and has nothing original to say about war, patriotic duty or sacrifice.

It’s May 1940 and some eight million French people take to the road on a journey south to escape the invading German army. Paul (Olivier Gourmet), the mayor of a small village in northern France, tells his fellow villagers to pack up their belongings and follow him and his wife (Mathilde Seigner Une Mère) to safety in Dieppe. Among the villagers is a small boy Max (Joshio Marlon) whose father Hans (August Diehl) opposed the Nazi régime and sought refuge in France before being imprisoned in Arras for lying about his nationality. He is being looked after by young school teacher Suzanne (Alice Isaaz Un Moment d”Egarement, La Crème de La Crème). When Arras is bombed by the Germans, Hans manages to escape and sets out to look for his son accompanied by a Scottish soldier Percy (Matthew Rhys The Americans) making his way back to England.

National characteristics are writ large. The Germans are cruel and sadistic; the French are patriotic, bon-viveurs and the sole representative of the British displays an admirably stiff upper lip. (And a very pukka English accent given his Scottish origins.) Carion has delivered two separate stories destined to intersect at some point. But he struggles to make this cross-over appear credible. While Hans and Percy engage in more traditional war time pursuits – escape scenes and shoot-outs – the narrative value of the wagon train south is more difficult to appreciate. It’s drawn-out and uneventful mercifully rescued by Ennio Morricone’s swooping score – his first composition for a French film in 30 years.
Clearly shot before the events of the last few months which have seen thousands of people marching across Europe as they flee war back home, En mai, fais ce qu’il t plait may labour a point, but it does seem eerily prescient. (Here)

002-The Stills
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion) / Darling Buds of May
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion) / Darling Buds of May
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion) / Darling Buds of May
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion) / Darling Buds of May
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion) / Darling Buds of May
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion)
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion)
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion)
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion)
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion)
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion)
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion)
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait (Christian Carion)
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
Darling Buds of May
003 - Official Trailer (01:12 Potato Site)
 
004-About the soundtracks in the film
4-1 En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait
Original text (Here)

En mai, fais ce qu’il te plait
By James Southall Saturday November 7, 2015
Composed by Ennio Morricone
Quartet Records / 2015 / 44m
Set in France in 1940, En mai, fais ce qu’il te plait tells the true story of a group of villagers who flee their homes to escape from the invading Germans. Directed by Christian Carion and starring August Diehl and Olivier Gourmet, the film is staged as a kind of western and its tale of people crossing France away from Calais to flee the horrors of war offers an interesting (if coincidental) juxtaposition with the refugee crisis currently engulfing Europe.

The film has received rather mixed reviews but for one glorious exception, which is the return to cinema after the longest gap of his career of the legendary composer Ennio Morricone. It’s his first score for French cinema in thirty years. Director Carion usually works with Philippe Rombi and I’m not sure why he didn’t this time, but having temp-tracked the film with Once Upon a Time in the West he tentatively enquired about Morricone and was delighted when he accepted (and immediately told the director to ditch the temp-track).

En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait
Ennio Morricone recording the score in Rome
Morricone has scored so many films, he’s ended up writing music for similarly-themed movies over and over again. This is by my count his sixth score since 2005 for a film set during World War Two, and in truth it offers few surprises. The biggest of them is possibly the absence of any truly stark suspense music, which often finds its way into these things – while it does of course have some dark moments, largely the composer’s music is bathed in a warm, nostalgic glow which is truly beautiful and makes for a consistently wonderful album with some stunning melodic highlights.

It doesn’t take long for the first of those to arrive: the nine-minute opening track “En mai” is a real powerhouse. A rising four-note phrase runs all the way through the piece, subtly shifting modulation as it goes, presumably signalling a tireless march onwards: indeed, it is the only thing heard for almost three minutes when finally a doubled horn and flute join, the melody lilting, warm, pleasant. Then the strings swell behind, adding a further glossy sheen, before ultimately taking on the melody themselves – it’s classic, vintage Morricone.

Ennio Morricone recording the score in Rome

The second cue, “L’étau se resserre”, is one of the score’s ventures into more suspenseful territory, but as I mentioned, it’s never abrasive nor unpleasant. Strings play short, slightly tentative phrases, running over multiple layers, little pizzicato bursts offer some stings – it’s not anything we haven’t heard many times before from Morricone, but he does do it very well. “Ils resteront trois” is one of those Ennio Morricone pieces: a sumptuous, soaring, exquisite and unforgettable melody, from the “Deborah’s Theme” mould (without the voice). It is so fluid, so seemingly effortlessly moving – a feather on the breeze. The B-section is lighter still, warmer still. It’s just so, so beautiful.

The brief “Traverser la guerre” is tinged with sadness but “Tout laisser” is much sunnier – it opens with solo accordion, a violin joins, then a harmonica – it’s a unique trio, producing a lovely sound, the instruments seeming to twist away together as if they’re dancing, before the strings swell once more – romantic, dazzling, delightful. “Ils arrivent” is probably the darkest piece in the score, some jagged edges this time to the strings, some intensely dramatic suspense and even a few bars that remind me a bit of Herrmann/Hitchcock. It’s back to melody in “Respirations” – this time with a feeling of a suspended heart thanks to the pauses between the phrases (there’s a hint of the composer’s theme from Malena in there too).

“Tous ensemble” features a light, airy melody for flute, dancing playfully around, the fluffiest part of the score. It reappears at the close of the following “Et même les animaux sont avec eux” but not before another great passage for the strings, full of feeling. The score closes with one last gem, “A la recherche de la paix” – solo trumpet sounding so noble over the wash of strings, then replaced with one of the signature sounds of Morricone’s career, a wordless soprano – a stunning conclusion to a stunning album.

Ennio Morricone and Christian Carion
Ennio Morricone and Christian Carion
En mai, fais ce qu’il te plait
At the time of writing these words, Ennio Morricone is a couple of days away from his 87th birthday. Of course he is no longer the extraordinarily innovative composer he was half a century ago (and for a long time thereafter) – and En mai, fais ce qu’il te pla?t is predictable, in the best possible way. One of the things that’s most predictable is just how good it is – the composer has lost none of his gift for melody and there are several truly exquisite ones here. It’s like a visit from an old friend, really – one you haven’t seen for a while. And I have to say, it’s magnificent – so moving, so often. The composer is nothing like the workhorse he once was, but he’s already recorded his next two scores: one for Tarantino, one for Tornatore. Reportedly, the next one he does will be for Malick. He remains at the very top of his game and this score is at the very top of 2015’s film music. It is one to be treasured.
 
CD Quartet Records QR-207 - Spain - 2015
Audition (WMA By the site)
1/1
8:55
En mai
1/2
3:58
L'étau se resserre
1/3
5:05
Ils resteront trois
1/4
1:54
Traverser la guerre
1/5
2:50
Tout laisser
1/6
3:39
Ils arrivent
1/7
4:06
Respirations
1/8
2:38
Tous ensemble
1/9
4:37
Et même les animaux sont avec eux
1/10
6:29
A la recherche de la paix
 
 
4-2 Cover Story: En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait
From "Maestro" issue #9 P4 (Here)
En mai, fais ce qu’il te plait
Original text (Here)

---- NEWS ----

Cover Story: En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait

by Patrick Bouster
En mai, fais ce qu’il te plait

Flashback to late 2014: I learnt through an indirect source that Ennio Morricone got a French assignment. A film taking place during WWII, more precisely at the beginning of the exodusafter the defeat of May 1940. Browsing on the internet through the future releases of the first
half of 2015, I found nothing. Around mid-January 2015, an Italian correspondent wrote to me:the Maestro recorded a new soundtrack, entitled Esodo (Exodus). We were dealing with the same assignment. And yes, it was recorded! It’s definitive and will be surely used, contrary to
Un crime (France, 2006), I thought. And consequently, Morricone’s last official French film, La cage aux folles III (1985) is finally superseded.
Planned to be released in spring 2015, the film was postponed to the autumn. If the assignment had only been done 2 or 3 months later, it is almost certain that Morricone would have declined: afterwards, there was the concert tour reprise and the Tarantino movie. A little miracle.

We will detail in a longer article the film process, with a text by Christian Carion, director, from the French press kit (see p.16), informative, different from the crossed interview between him and Morricone that is included in the CD booklet.

Christian Carion started his series of avant-premieres around mid-September 2015 and came down to more Southern territories of the country. At one of these avant-premiereq, as planned with the cinema center, I was able to obtain an exclusive interview with him (see p.19).

We will conclude with some impressions on the Quartet Records CD (see p.20).

 
 
4-3 En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait -- Morricone and France: the love story continues
From "Maestro" issue #9 P16 (Here)
En mai, fais ce qu’il te plait
 
Original text (Here)

---- SCORE REVIEW ----

En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait
Morricone and France: the love story continues

by Patrick Bouster

The film

The story tells the exodus of thousands people in Northern France after the shameful and quick defeat of May 1940. So in the film settled in June, huge disorder mixed numerous destinies, including a German opposed to the Nazi regime, in search of his 8-year old son. For this “choral” film, all the actors are right, sober and intense. They carry humanity and symbolize each of us in these troubled days.

Let us affirm that we are dealing with a major film, well shot, well photographed (rather exceptional in French films by now!), taking time to install the true historical context. Born in Cambrai (North of France), Carion certainly had a special sensitivity for the episode, not wellknown into the whole WWII.

The movie has been released in French cinema theatres on November 4, 2015, with no date for
other countries yet.

Christian Carion, director, on the French press kit
Text by Christian Carion, director, on the French press kit
Translated by Patrick Bouster. Version originale en francais (original version in French) :
http://medias.unifrance.org/medias/37/76/150565/presse/en-mai-fais-ce-qu-il-te-plaitdossier-de-presse-francais.pdf (pages 10, 11)
My collaboration with Ennio Morricone was not planned at all. I wanted to work again with Philippe Rombi. Laure Gardette, the editor I know for 25 years and with whom I work now,began to edit the film during the shooting. So she quickly needed the music. Philippe Rombi provided the theme at bagpipes, but since he was working at the same time on Asterix: le domaine des dieux, we understood that it would be difficult for him to be available. While writing the script, I listened a lot to soundtracks by Morricone. For fun, we edited the pictures
on the music from Once Upon a Time in the West, among others.

It worked and caused something very strong. Eve Machuel, from the production team, then proposed to me to work with Ennio Morricone. I thought it was totally unrealistic. While I was in Lyon (France) to edit the film, she progressing on this project in Paris. And the production called me one day to tell me that an agreement with Ennio Morricone was nearly concluded, but the Maestro wanted to see me!

I was very excited, and at the same time I was anxious: how to collaborate with such a man? I went to Rome, telling to myself that the project was going to fail. And I ended up in a sublime apartment, that Morricone bought from Sophia Loren who had received it from her husband Carlo Ponti! Ennio Morricone explained to me his work method: “The directors talk to me about their films and during the script writing, I compose and then I record before the shooting and I give the music to the director. We meet again for the editing and if we need to adapt, we adapt. And that’s it.” Then I told him that one year before, I would never have imagined to ask him to compose the music.

He told me: “Now that you are here, what do you have to show me?” I had two DVDs, one containing the film edited with temp track, much of which was by Morricone but not only. The other DVD was edited without music.

I proposed to him to watch the latter, but the Maestro preferred watching the one with music. He wanted to know my tastes. We were in a room where 4 seats were installed in front of a poor TV set: for his wife, his agent, for him and for myself. I would not have been able to watch the film next to him, so I sat behind. The film started. First piece of music: The Thin Red Line by Hans Zimmer. He said: “What is that? It doesn’t work with the emotions!” He went on with some sentences in Italian the translator didn’t even translate. The film continued, in French without subtitles. He didn’t speak anymore. At the end of the 2 hours of watching, Morricone turned towards me and I saw he was moved. He himself was surprised. He told me: “The film is great and the music is very good”. I replied: “If you think I will buy the rights of Once upon a time in the West or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, then we’d better stop here, I have a plane to take.” He laughed. He asked me to follow him to his office. In his mess of documents, he found a paper and told me that before our meeting, he had received the synopsis in Italian. “While reading it, I thought about this”, he told me as he moved to his piano. Surprised, I asked him if he was going to play. “Yes”. I stopped him: “I have to shoot this, I have to come back to Paris with your music.” He thought a bit and asked: “Personal?” I replied: “Personal!” (even if, since that moment, I showed it to many people). As from the first 4 notes, you know that you
are dealing with music by Morricone. It was a major theme for the movie. I had no hindsight and I asked myself if it was good for the film. But I was strongly moved. He then explained how he was going to develop the themes and said: “We will meet on 12th January for the
recording.” I insisted to see him again before that day, in order to decide where to put the music.

We met again, we spoke together. “You know, we always do too much. Even if it is by me, we have to know how to waste.” I found this to be
incredible!” Ennio Morricone indeed composed one hour of music and I kept only 20 minutes. For the New Year wishes, he told me: “I thought about another theme. I don’t have the time to make you listen to it. We will start with this one at the recording, on 12th of January.”
The 12th of January! The day after the great walk in homage to the victims of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. So after having walked in Lyon, I was
in the plane to Rome, saying to myself: is it worth it, all this work? I was puzzled.

Christian Carion, director, on the French press kit
Ennio Morricone welcomed me at the recording studio, with the newspaper “La Repubblica”in his hands, showing on the first page a picture of the “place de la République” [in Paris]. We entered the studio, he stood at the pulpit. With all the musicians, we did a one-minute silence. At the end, he clapped in his hands and shouted: “Cinema!” As if saying: let’s not get discouraged. An incredible energy emanated from the studio and it came from an 86 years old man. He started with this 8-minute long track, hypnotic, mesmerizing, that I nicknamed “Morricone’s Bolero”, without knowing if we would be able to use it. That evening, I worked with the editor to find out how to use this theme (which we slightly edited by the way).
Following the French collective shock, the Roman week was beneficial and regenerating. Later, I came back to Rome with the film edited and subtitled in Italian. I wanted the Maestro to watch it fully and in a version in which I had cut a lot. After the end, he turned to Maria his wife, and asked her what she thought. And he turned to me and said: “During the first half, I asked myself why I accepted to compose for this film. And in the second half, I understood. In the first half you removed a lot of music and it works: it didn’t need any music. In the second part, I modestly think that my music brings something. I make this work for 60 years and I know that my music have an interest only in films having really something to stand up for.”The Music Much information is conveyed by the text above. Morricone wasn’t Carion’s first choice because he had worked twice with Philippe Rombi. Moreover, the French composer wrote the solo bagpipes source track played by the Scottish soldier. So the film presents the unusual peculiarity of having an additional music by the first called composer! The second important aspect is the waste of numerous tracks, available for a good part on the CD. Only 3 main themes have been kept from one hour of music, a rare situation with a director who had never worked with him before. The director rightly insists on the late coming of the music to underline its place into the movie. But a couple of short pedal tracks on strings are heard at the beginning, not important enough to be noticed or to give an impression. The score, only melodic, underlines the departure, the exodus and the emotions, without any action, suspenseful or violent cue. Because it isn’t an action film but a film on the humanity of simple people, the music had to be sober, with dignity. Two main themes are heard, mainly for strings, one melodic developing the main theme in the vein ofMalèna, one more minimalistic with pauses. The end titles marks the audience, through an orchestral ostinato track with variations, although melodic.
The shooting took place in June 2014, so we can estimate that the first meeting took place in September or October. The main theme was performed at the concert in Lyon (France) on March 2015, which is very exceptional for a film not yet released. Morricone said about the film31: “I didn't want to do a war movie anymore. But this one, I understood it was something else. It is a film on people in search of peace and quietness. While France is being invaded, we discover the adventures of this convoy, in an exodus towards freedom.”
Christian Carion, director, on the French press kit

Exclusive interview with Christian Carion

by Patrick Bouster, on September17th, 2015
Texte original en francais (original text in French):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0ZW0ql7kvdnRnVzLWdFU2lUYkE/view?usp=sharing

Christian Carion started his series of avant-premieres around mid-September 2015 and came down to more Southern territories of the country. After the film and before answering the questions from the audience, he showed what he had shot with his phone: Morricone playing the main theme on the piano (1:30). Of course the director warned everyone to not shoot or record this extra (maybe on the future DVD?). In this Northern quarter of France, he felt at
home, installing a warm but serious climate with the public. At one of the avant-premieres, as planned with the cinema center, I was able to obtain an
exclusive interview with him. Many thanks to him for having accepted it between two screenings.

Q: You developed the topic in the press kit and the CD booklet, but what were the reasons to call Morricone, who had nearly disappeared from the big screen for many years, especially in France?
C. Carion: While writing the script, I listened to his music for westerns and Once upon a Time in America, The Mission, powerful and moving. I then logically put them as temporary tracks. But then how to remove these? The production had the idea to contact Morricone, through another director, who had had a project with Morricone, not realized32.

Q: Did you gave him some indication for the music?
CC: I met the Maestro 3 times before the recording session. I indicated to him what the sequences were intended for. He wrote on a notebook, a sort of agenda. He fortunately told me that I had to through away some of his music, because in the fascination for such an artist, I wouldn’t have dare to! It’s the kind of music that gets you carried away, without it being boring or heavy. Morricone has an elegance in his work, the music infuses the movie, it is not
thunderous.

Q: The sort of mill, looking like our wing mills but smaller, seen in the film: is it too much to imagine it is a wink to …the West by Sergio Leone ?
CC: It actually is a wind mill of the period, in order to bring electricity to the water tower you see in a sequence. Obviously it was intentional. I conceived the film a little bit like a western.

Q: Has the final editing been made according to the music, much later?
CC: Yes, the editing between pictures and music was important, a lot of work. We had the help of his sound engineer, Fabio Venturi, who collaborated with us. The sound editor has a musical background, it helped us to make cuts here and there. We had some liberty because I had the composer’s trust. But we couldn’t do everything with the music because Morricone controlled the whole.

Q: On the end titles, we noticed the name of a harmonica player and of a female singer, both not present in the soundtrack. Why couldn’t the music with these soloists be kept?
CC: I believe you will find these tracks on the CD! Under the condition that the Maestro included them, because he masters the CD content. He recorded one piece with harmonica, different from the main themes. Then the player tried to play the main theme solo. And Morricone recorded it with him and the orchestra, as a new version. I wanted to use the first harmonica theme at the beginning of the film, on pictures in black and white of real people. But
it didn’t work, moreover the next music was by Schubert. It was maybe interesting but I removed the music: it expressed more without music, the pictures didn’t need it. And almost nobody played harmonica in France, it didn’t belong to the popular instruments, contrary to the accordion, for instance. The other track for orchestra, female solo voice and trumpet is his project for the end titles. It isn’t in the film because I finally didn’t retain it.
Q: The piece Morricone wrote as a surprise, unknown to you until the recording: is it the one for the end titles?
CC: Yes, the one I called the “Morricone Bolero”, an 8-minute long piece which takes you, with a progression. It has been used in another scene too. Its natural place, a maximal one, was at the end titles. Two themes were important: one for the departure of the people who leave their home, and the one for the end titles. Just after the recording of this track, I see Ennio taking a phone, talking a little bit and getting the phone close to the loudspeaker while the
music was playing: it was his wife Maria. She approved to it.
Q: Do you have a little anecdote about Morricone or the music?
CC: I came back in April 2015 to see Morricone with the film subtitled in Italian and with the music and a new editing. His wife was very moved at the end, with tears in her eyes. Ennio Morricone asked her: “It was great, wasn’t it?” She said: “Yes, excellent.” He said: “The film, sure, but what about my music?”

Excerpts from an interview with Christian Carion about the music, by Benoit Basirico 33

C. Carion: Cinema brought me to the music: Soylent Green opened me to Beethoven's 6th symphony, Kubrick brought me to the classical music. Cinema is a popular art allowing to open to other arts. Cinema and music go together, according to me, an intimate relationship. While writing, I need music. In En mai?, there is existing music, by Schubert, but it is rare in my films. I like the idea of a music 《imagined and conceived for...》.

Morricone, for me, is more than a cinema composer, he is cinema. He is in the DNA of the worldwide cinema, through everything he made since many years. His strength is that his music is cinema. There aren't many in this category: while you listen to his music, you really are in cinema. He knows how to do that.

One of my first 45 RPM's was Once upon a Time in the West, the front cover with the longcoat guys seen from the back, and the young boy in front of them. I thought about that cover in the lift, when going to his home. I said to myself: I should not think about that, otherwise I am done. An experience helped me: I remembered how I lived Une hirondelle a fait le printemps with Michel Serrault, a cinema monster. If I begin thinking about the films he did, I wouldn't know how to direct him to play. And there in Rome, I said to myself: I have to forget Morricone's
music in order to really talk to him. [......]


The CD (Quartet Records QR 207): First impressions

The CD opens with the end titles, En mai?, introducing the theme by a static and repetitive motive on organ (or electronic instrument), rather boring. Without it, the track would have more strength when listening to the CD. One of the nicest pieces of the soundtrack, it impresses by
its solemnity.
Few other tracks illustrate the movie. Ils resteront trois, moving and soft, takes the role of the film’s main theme, long and rich, it contains several really delicious motives. Traverser la guerre is heard, the softest of the 3 atmospheric tracks, but the soundtrack’s qualities are elsewhere. A track by far more often heard, Respirations, underlines the unquiet situation of the German looking for his son and the sad event of the people fleeing on the roads. As its title suggests, numerous pauses interrupt the music for strings, another well-know Morriconian pattern.

The harmonica cue, not used, is the first half of Tout laisser. The second half, a sweet and sentimental theme for strings, is used in the trailer. And in there, it is heard completely including the pedal introduction, while it is curiously cross-faded with the end of the first track on the CD
(a detail noticed by an Italian correspondent).

Many other tracks don’t appear in the film, or weren't perceived and remembered: L’étau se resserre, Ils arrivent, Tous ensemble, Et même les animaux sont avec eux, A la recherche de la paix. Tous ensemble, a gentle track, melodic but not flat, puts in light the flute, exceptionally.
The flute player Paolo Zampini, added “Esodo” to his film credits (see Maestro 7): it is actually this film, the Italian title being temporary for the recording. We have to keep this information because the soloist is oddly not mentioned in the CD credits, whereas other named soloists have
a similarly modest involvement. Et même les animaux sont avec eux presents a melodic treatment, like Ils resteront trois, but through another theme, welcome and very pleasant. A la recherche de la paix uses the theme from Tout laisser part 2 in a touching, melodic and ample way: it will suit to everyone. The female voice is sparse, discreet, and the trumpet is less aggressive than in I demoni di San Pietroburgo’s A mio padre. It concludes very well the CD, lasting 44 minutes (comparing to a 60-minute recorded soundtrack, we can be happy, as it could have been shorter).

Note that the definitive track titles are totally different from the ones registered in the SIAE database (see Maestro 8), surely changed by Stéphane Lerouge for the CD. The booklet contains a crossed interview between Carion and EM, long and informative, even if some parts are in the press kit), managed by Stéphane Lerouge. This is rare enough to be underlined.

Christian Carion, director, on the French press kit
Notes:
31 On cinezik.org, see the video: http://www.cinezik.org/infos/affinfo.php?titre0=20151103184527
32 He didn’t want to name him. But we strongly believe it was Christophe Gans, who wished to hire Morricone for Le pacte des loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf, 2001), a nice film, unfortunately refused by the composer.
33 Original video in French, containing the entire transcription: http://www.cinezik.org/infos/affinfo.php?titre0=20151103184527
See here for the detail of the articles in the "Maestro" >>>>>>
 
4-4 From "Quartet Records"

Quartet Records is very proud to present the first new score by Maestro Ennio Morricone since Giussepe Tornatore’s La Megliore Offerta (The Best Offer) (2013).

Returning to French cinema after an absence of 35 years, Morricone has collaborated with director Christian Carion (Une hirondelle a fait le printemps, Joyeux Noel) on an emotional film about the invasion of France by German troops in 1940, and the people of a small town fleeing from the barbaric Nazis.

Ennio Morricone has written a moving, beautiful, deeply melancholic and nostalgic symphonic poem. The music takes us back to the sound of his best epic scores, such as A Time of Destiny, Casualties of War, Il Deserto Dei Tartari or Baaria. Played by the Roma Sinfonietta under the baton of the composer, this is certainly a great milestone and one of the most highly anticipated works of the year. (Here)

4-5 From Movie Music UK
EN MAI FAIS CE QU’IL TE PLAIT – Ennio Morricone
November 10, 2015 Leave a comment Go to comments

enmaifaiscequilteplaitOriginal Review by Jonathan Broxton

If the information on the Internet Movie Database is correct, En Mai Fais Ce Qu’il te Pla?t is the 521st score of Ennio Morricone’s career, which stretches back to his first score, Il Federale, in 1961. In the intervening 54 years the Italian has written some of the most iconic music in the history of cinema; En Mai Fais Ce Qu’il te Pla?t will likely not be remembered as one of his standout works but, considering the fact that he is now aged 86, that he is writing film music at all is a minor miracle. That it’s still this good is nothing short of astonishing. The film – the title of which translates to Darling Buds of May in English – is a French drama written and directed by Christian Carion, who previously directed the well regarded films Une Hirondelle a Fait le Printemps and Joyeux No?l. Set during the early days of World War II, the story follows a group of people from a small village in Pas-de-Calais in northern France, who flee from the advancing German troops, and essentially become homeless, traversing the French countryside trying to avoid the Nazis, while trying to retain some semblance of a normal life under new, terrible circumstances.

The score is quintessential Ennio Morricone. Conducted and orchestrated by the great man himself, it contains a pair of utterly magnificent central themes, sweet and romantic but also deeply melancholic, which are offset by some more dramatic suspense music accompanying the threat of war that displaces the families from their village. After a several minutes of minimalist buildup for strings and organ, the opening cue, “En Mai,” gradually emerges from its repetitive four-note base into a simply stunning main theme, redolent of summer time, rolling countryside, and a tranquil environment.

Morricone embraces this style of writing in several subsequent cues. “Ils Resteront Trois” introduces the secondary theme, for the lead character, Paul, and his wife and son. It’s one of those heart-meltingly gorgeous melodies that only Morricone can write, and has a hint of Cinema Paradiso to it, especially in the string harmonies, but the return of the subtle organ orchestration from the opening cue gives it a slightly religioso quality too, that is both appropriate and appealing. Later, “Tout Laisser” embraces some hints of traditional Gallic folk music, stripped down to just an accordion, harmonica, and solo violin, and has a bittersweet sense of loss and regret, before returning to restate the Family theme, again with a wash of melancholy strings. The subsequent “Respirations” is filled with a sense of relief, of families being reunited, and the simple pleasure of being with the ones you love.

Meanwhile, “L’étau se Resserre” and “Traverser la Guerre” are filled with tension and apprehension, with tremolo string writing and plucked bass notes that gradually give way to more strident phrases for violins and moody, slightly mysterious-sounding oboes. Similarly, “Ils Arrivent” has a martial cadence and a sense of quiet, stark desperation, with high, pulsating strings and staccato muted brass writing that briefly recalls the similar-sounding militaristic tones of his score for Indagine su un Cittadino al di Sopra di Ogni Sospetto from 1970. These cues are clearly intended to musically depict the looming threat of the Germans, storming over the border and leaving destruction in their wake; although none of these cues are truly devastating in their depiction of war, they impart instead a sense of resignation and sadness, with the citizens of Pas-de-Calais having lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their peace of mind.

The elegant flute writing of “Tous Ensemble” has an unexpected playfulness to it, again conveying a light and summery air, completely at odds with the tone of the rest of the film. The final two cues, “Et Même les Animaux Sont Avec Eux” and “A la Recherche de la Paix”, are deeply moving, allowing the performance of the Roma Sinfionetta to rise to the fore with statements of both main themes. The emotional quality of the music really shines through in the first cue, recalling works like Casualties of War and A Time of Destiny, eulogizing the losses that war brings to everyone, while celebrating the stoicism and optimism that humanity can, somehow, maintain in the most desperate conditions. However, Morricone saves the best for last; the stirring solo trumpet performance that anchors the first half of the final cue is especially lovely, having a wistful and nostalgic quality, and an air of remembrance that is wholly appropriate. When the solo female vocalist enters for the first and only time during the second half of the cue, providing haunting counterpoint to the orchestral performance of the main theme, the effect is sensational. Edda dell’Orso would be proud.

No-one writes film music like Ennio Morricone, and no-one else ever will. He has successfully written music in every conceivable genre, and has been a groundbreaking trailblazer in all of them. However, despite how creative his western and thriller scores are, and despite how much innovation he has brought to the table throughout the decades, it is his drama and romance writing that holds a special place in my heart. Although he clearly has a signature sound, with familiar chord progressions and instrumental combinations that span the decades, his capacity for writing utterly spellbinding, ridiculously beautiful themes is simply unparalleled, and En Mai Fais Ce Qu’il te Pla?t is another one that we can add to that canon. Of course, as I said earlier, it will never be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Cinema Paradiso, Once Upon a Time in America, The Red Tent, or my own personal favorite, La Califfa, but considering his advancing years, anything Ennio Morricone writes these days should be cherished. En Mai Fais Ce Qu’il te Pla?t is an essential purchase for fans of the maestro’s work.

Buy the En Mai Fais Ce Qu’il te Pla?t soundtrack from the Movie Music UK Store

Track Listing:

En Mai (8:56)
L’étau se Resserre (3:58)
Ils Resteront Trois (5:05)
Traverser la Guerre (1:55)
Tout Laisser (2:51)
Ils Arrivent (3:39)
Respirations (4:07)
Tous Ensemble (2:38)
Et Même les Animaux Sont Avec Eux (4:37)
A la Recherche de la Paix (6:29)

Running Time: 44 minutes 16 seconds

Quartet Records (2015)

Music composed and conducted by Ennio Morricone. Performed by the Roma Sinfionetta. Orchestrations by Ennio Morricone. Recorded and mixed by Marco Streccioni. Album produced by Ennio Morricone and Pascal Meyer. (Movie Music UK)

 
4-6 From Soindtrackcollector
From Soindtrackcollector
005-Ennio Morricone recording the score for the film (01:50 Potato site
006 - Download related file
Please click here to download the RAR file,unzip password morricone.cn
338M include 10 soundtracks MP3 OST with 320Kbps bitrate
and 6 videos (Official Trailer2, Theme music1, Morricone is recording for the film1, Interview2)
Nov 26, 2015

2023 Editor's note: This film is currently available in area C of our reading resource library for FA1503

 

 

September 2023 for Mobile edition

The site http://morricone.cn Alternate domain name http://em.hty66.com
The site Home-mobile
信息产业部备案序号(2014): 苏ICP备11039856号 © 2015 hwg 版权所有