Posted on: January 11, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

OST: The Kite Runner / 2007 Decca / 21 Tracks / http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/kiterunner /

The Kite Runner was the first album that was produced by Khalid Hosseini, in 2003. The movie adaptation of the book will likely be out after Christmas, and features pretty much the same story as the book – after spending a long time on the West Coast of America, Amir returns to Afghanistan to go forth and help eir friend Hussein’s son. The score is done by Alberto Iglesias, who is still an unknown in Hollywood. This does not mean that Iglesias is untested (ey has done scores for movies such as Volver, The Constant Gardener, and The Dancer Upstairs), but ey has not done the score for a large scale Hollywood type of production.

From the introduction to “Opening Titles”, there is a middle Eastern flair to the score that works perfectly with the story line, the scenery, and the overall feel of the movie. Each of the compositions goes by fairly quickly, but the fleeting nature of this soundtrack is a perfect support to the major shifts present in the movie. There is practically nothing in the way of vocals present during this score, which increases the ability of this tostand in as a mood piece, unlinked to any other particular film or event. The quicker tempo of “Kite Tournament” really shows well the titular event; one can hear the kites flittering and flying, trying to push for the lead, while the slower tempo of the track stands in for the ground which the kites are flying over.

The sixty-two minutes of this sscore allows for Iglesias to go all over the map, as the movie does much of the same thing. The compositions present during “The Kite Runner” all hover around the same set of influences, but the extended length of the score allows Iglesias to focus on all domains, all sounds, and do it in a way that none of the compositions sound forced or otherwise odd in the larger context of the film. While The Kite Runner has seen life as a book before and will see life as a movie soon after, it is the soundtrack to the film that will give an entirely new view to the work of Hosseini, and perhaps even give a better context to the actions that take place on film and in the original book. Give the score a go, even before you have a chance to see the film.

Top Tracks: Hassan Theme, Fly A Kite

Rating: 6.5/10

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