The civil war in Bosnia reach its top in year 1995. On July 11, General Mladic, chief of the Bosnian-Serb army, takes the Muslim's area at Srebrenica. This zone was on the protection of the UN since the resolution 819 from April 1993. The Serbian army with General Mladic enters violently Srebrenica, and for that we have La fine del giorno remembering the Mafia' style.
Under the “Blue Helmets“'s eyes, the Serbian soldiers make a selection between women and men, illustrated by a sad motive with strings and wind instruments (Aggrediti e deportati). At the same time the women are driven out of the Serbian war front, around 8000 men disappear. Mladic immobilizes the UN soldiers, who take off their blue helmets.
Several days later, a French policeman, Jacques Calvez (Benoit Magimel), is in charge, by the “International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia” (ICTY), to investigate in order to know what they became. Having taken off from Paris, he arrives in Tuzla (Northern Bosnia), a grouping location of Muslims. A strings music (Un canto di speranza) is heard. He meets a woman interpreter, Jasna Palic, at the location for the women (Terreno minato, fosse comuni). He asks questions to these women to get their testimonies, to identify the disappeared people and the guilty persons.
As Morricone does, it could be compared to La battaglia di Algeri for the violence of the army and people reached in their culture and identity (without a genocide of course). The rough Battiato's film although has not the same strength and beauty. Pontecorvo achieved a true film although its informative and documentary elements, with both stylised and realistic acting and pictures. But few – and not Battiato for sure - could reach this level ! Fortunately, Magimel's playing is outstanding.
Of course the purpose is dark and the music, like the film, has no spectacular effects : sober, withdrawn; how to manage it in a different way to respect the pain and the dignity ?...
Furthermore this music is very compact and coherent as it is often in the same climate. Some different ideas are noticed though :
The end title theme :
Un canto di speranza begins by notes on synth and mandola, a first part not heard in the end titles. Only the second part, a quasi-theme on strings, was featured, souding Eastern music (fifth intervals EM cited). Poignant and moving indeed, well achieved.
Arrestati e colpevoli on the same theme appears to be more common, nothing special to report about it.
Few presence of this main theme is noticed, even if it is in some parts of tracks (bridges from tracks 6, etc).
The “action themes” :
Caschi blu : a long rhythmed track, which seems to take the same idea from Karol e gli invasori. Well done indeed with hard scansions’ ostinato and syncopated rhythm, a nice progression as he made often, though in a more withdrawn, less powerful way than Uomini e no, Rappresaglia, for instance.
The 2 following piece are very similar in their Mafia ' style violence, very appreciated, and would'nt have been put together (bad sequencing !)
La fine del giorno much shorter, has a second part in another style, slower with some suspense, which make the whole very interesting and not too long. Guerra etnica with its 4 min. is a little too long, but it is a trademark.
The moving themes :
The biggest surprise of the CD is to feature feeling themes, far less heard in the film.
Donne sole with its flute and then its oboe gives some warmth among a cold environment to enjoy without limit.
Senza perdono and Tutte le donne has a female voice treated in an “ethnic” way, a special voice never heard before (it doesn’t sound like the known singers, and in fact the singer is new). Both are enchired by some bridges or second parts with other colours : end title theme for the first, string and alto motive reminding Karol for the second one. Good pieces indeed but giving a sensation of coldness.
Clara as a quasi-love theme, has common points with Cracovia from Karol : sweet strings, with a beautiful alto solo added though. The trumpet enters the bridge at the middle, which made a rich track.
Less peaceful, more moving is Mediazione : loud separate notes on strings make solennity make the first and third part. Even it seems to be simple, it impresses greatly, as some miracles we are accustomed with. Oboe, trumpet give again other colours of this excellent track. And richness and surprises are not finished, we are at the middle only !
Nei sogni is again another theme, never reprised, as if it would a pattern finally not used. Sensitive and moving on mandola and strings, it could have its role in the soundtrack, as it is in the right vein. We understand better the Battiato’s assertion about “too much themes” !
Voglia di giustizia for mandola solo with strings but is sounding a little like Hungarian cymbalum (featured in Fateless)
The incidental or atmospheric pieces :
Mitragliatrice with pause and although the gunshots similar to Gott mit uns is almost calm and soft ! A very listenable and interesting track surprisingly.
Mladic not used, Nuvole ad est, much used in the film, are more incidental.
Terreno minato, fosse comuni and Aggrediti e deportati are the great pieces of this category as they are precisely written : complex strings, some outburst of persussions, special atmospheres created, very well done. Enjoy the fisrt one, with his thin strings, his progression for its climax ! The whole is poignant and full of meaning : it concretely illustrates, with few other pieces like Un canto di speranza, Tutte le donne, Mediazione the author’s engagement.
The unclassified tracks :
Marcia dei fantasmi and Terza lamentazione with their too different colours than the whole soundtrack, couldn’t find their place : a special rhythm and length make them too far from the general rendition. Not bad tracks, but “out of the tone” and too long to be really convincing.
The whole, being precisely written and with many themes appears to be cold or at least serious, avoiding easiness and warmth, and withdrawn, due to the purpose. Since the nineties, we have at least two sorts of Morricone style for dramas/historical movies, if we simplify a bit : one full of feelings, warth and tears for the common TV movies (almost all the Negrin, La casa bruciata, Musashi, Il Papa buono, Cefalonia, etc) and one more serious and cold, sophisticated for later TV dramas (the 2 Karol, L’ultimo dei Corleonesi, large parts of La provinciale, etc). Résolution 819 belongs of course to this second category.
The credits mention some musicians : Marco Serino (violin), Fausto Anzelmo (alto), Vladimiro Buzi (“mandoline” but it is mandola), Gilda Buttà (piano), Miriam Megnaghi (voice), choir by Nuovo Lirico Sinfonica Romano.
Were not used in the film : Marcia dei fantasmi, Donne sole, Terza lamentazione, Arrestati e colpevoli, Caschi blu, Mladic, Nei sogni and many excerpts and bridges from tracks 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 mainly, and parts of other tracks.
A strong engagement, where we find a great interest from the Maestro to recent history and its wars (specially WW 2), Mafia and dramatic world events, both as man and as citizen.
