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 Review
This 1983 soundtrack to the obscure and ultimately
rather touching movie directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara (1927 – 2002) was only
released world-wide some five years later. The film was apparently based on a
true story and a big success in Japan at the time, where in 2001 it was released
on a double DVD set that unfortunately lacks English subtitles. However, the
story line is easy to follow and this movie is as much about that story as it is
about the often breath-taking shots of Antarctica and its wildlife.
Across the opening titles we hear Life of
Antarctica, a dramatic piece that uses sequencers, various layers of harmony
and flute-sounds to set up an atmosphere of adversity. It is used for this
purpose at a few points throughout the movie. The actual story develops as
follows: about halfway through the film, a team of Japanese arctic explorers is
forced to abandon camp due to extreme weather circumstances. Those circumstances
make it impossible to take along the full complement of dogs, who are left
behind chained to a rope. This is especially hard on their two caretakers, who
had developed an emotional bond with the dogs, after having been saved from
trouble by them during one of their treks across the continent. This trek, made
by 3 men and the dogs pulling a sleigh across the icy mountains, provides the
first opportunity for the music to fully play its part. A couple of short
ambient non-album pieces are introduced here as periods of intense activity
alternating with periods of rest plus shots like a beautiful sunset are
accompanied by tracks such as Deliverance
and Memory of Antarctica.
Of some 20 dogs left behind, 7 eventually manage to break free to start a long
battle for survival. They initially bond together, but fatal events and various
injuries make the group split up and become smaller and smaller. There are
extended scenes showing the dogs trying to find food (frozen fish in the ice,
the occasional bird), running across the ice (Kinematic) and witnessing some amazing sights. One of those, the
strange magnetic phenomenon of Aurora Australis (or Aurora Borealis, as it'd be
called in Canada, where the film was mostly shot) has an ambient piece which
would have been worthy of inclusion on the album. Some sad scenes show the dogs
come to an end in different ways. Here the contemplative music of Antarctica
Echoes and Memory of Antarctica is
often used.
 Meanwhile
back in Japan the two caretakers keep wondering about the fate of their dogs and
be depressed about their having been so powerless to do anything about it. When
summer returns to the white continent, two dogs have somehow managed to survive
the ordeal. Eventually an opportunity comes along for the two men to return to
the camp and at least put their minds at rest. As expected, they find most dogs
dead but are then happily reunited with the two survivors to the majestic sounds
of the Theme, which also covers the
end-titles. That theme, the opening piece on the album, is a magnificently
orchestrated blend of harmony and percussion. Its drawn-out melody is trademark
Vangelis - using only a few notes and achieving harmonic resolution by the
simplest of means it's got class written all over it due to its spacious
arrangement. I've heard it being used for a TV-documentary about ocean sailing
as well, it evokes that sort of feeling of heroism very well. The album's own
overall effect is one of virtuosity, an inspired Vangelis at a high point in his
musicianship.
There is some, but not much additional music and alternative versions in the
movie that are not on the album, on the other hand none of the fully worked out
pieces on the album are heard in their entirety in the movie. Barring the lack
of subtitles, the Japanese DVD-set is definitive: the first disc contains the
movie in both 2.0 and 5.1 sound, the second has many interesting extras (like
little documentaries about Japanese arctic missions) including a nice
"making-of". This has a short sequence showing the team visiting
Vangelis in London, showing him scenes from the movie and Vangelis briefly
demonstrating his set-up, as well as being interviewed about why he chose to
contribute to this project.
Review by Ivar de Vries
Movements
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