L'AIR DE LA MER REND LIBRE (YOU PROMISED ME THE SEA) Bande Originale du Film
L'AIR DE LA MER REND LIBRE
YOU PROMISED ME THE SEA
A film by Nadir Moknèche
Music by Samy Thiébault
Label Plaza Mayor
Company Ltd
Festival Francophone d’Angouleme 2023 - Selection
French Brittany, nowadays. Still
living at home, Saïd is carrying on a secret affair with Vincent. Unable to
confront his family, he accepts an arranged marriage with Hadjira. She too has
given in to her mother’s demands, following a romantic disappointment and
trouble with the law. Trapped by their families, Saïd and Hadjira join forces
to follow their own path to freedom.
Ever since my first films, even though the action took
place in Algeria, I've always avoided the idea that the original music could be
described as Arabist, and the original compositions belonged to a rather
classical repertoire, played on piano solo. For “You promised me the sea”, I
felt the need for a different mood, without necessarily having a preconceived
idea of the direction to take. I trusted my instincts, imagining a
trumpet/guitar duet for a concert scene, in a fairly rhythmic and light
jazz-swing mood, to provide a counterpoint to the rather dramatic color of the
story. It was on this first note that we set out and searched with Samy
Thiébault, exchanging ideas intensely to try and find the right tone, the one
most in tune with the mood of the film and the emotions the characters are
going through. Samy composed a main
theme that runs throughout the film, with variations in tone and
instrumentation to suit the mood and changing paths of Saïd, Hadjira and
Vincent. He succeeds in instilling a youthfulness, the youth of the characters,
by proposing music that is, in my opinion, unexpected and far removed from the
conventions of a contemporary urban story. The instrumentation, the sound
textures and the warmth of the tones all contribute to preserving something
embodied, a form of closeness, of reality, which was important for this film.
Nadir Moknèche – Director
For me, jazz
has always been a music of the in-between, deeply popular, yet at the same time
demanding and profound.
This movement
of sublimating differences into a radical reinvention of oneself, this
"sea air" that makes us so free and that Nadir Moknèche depicts, is
indeed the itinerary of the characters we see walking before our eyes. We
therefore felt that "The Air" of the Sea should also be a musical
"Air", a hymn that accompanies our heroes and heroines to their
joyous liberation.
That's why we
concentrated on a main theme, both minor and major, which can be a slow waltz
or an energetic dance. The opening credits melody accompanies us throughout the
film until the end credits, when it gives way to an arrangement of "I
Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me" performed by Hugh Coltman,
already briefly heard before in the film, before he swims with his whole body
in this hermeneutic sea, so full of meaning, courage and hope, that Nadir's
film is.
Samy
Thiébault – Composer
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