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.

L'air de la mer... On Spotify

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

L'air de la mer .. on Apple Music

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

L'air de la mer ... on Soundcloud