CD REVIEW - THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES


The Secret in their Eyes
Music by Emilio Kauderer and Federico Jusid
Milan Records M2-36486 (US)
23 Tracks 46:56 mins

The Argentinian entry, The Secret in their Eyes, triumphed in the category of Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards and the film's music has also received a good deal of attention, winning the Argentinean Academy Award, the Clarin Award, the Havana Film Festival Award and the CEC Award. The score is co-composed by LA-based Argentine native Emilo Kauderer and Federico Jusid, the former was recently recognized by the Board of Commissioners of Los Angeles County for his contributions to Latin and film music, and is known for his work on the Latin American versions of High School Musical, as well as his scores for the likes of Emilio Estevez's Culture Clash inAmericCCa, Heist and Conversations with God, together with a number of TV films; the latter having worked on more than 25 features and TV series, as well as a number of classical commissions. Jusid is also a prize-winning piano soloist, having toured with orchestras throughout American, Europe and Asia. Both composers worked separately and together on the score, also sharing co-compositional credit with Sebastian Kauderer and Ignacio Longo, of whom no biographical details are to be found; all their combined and individual efforts being duly noted in the album credits, with mini-biographies of the principal composers also included.
The Secret in their Eyes is a mixture of thrills, drama and romance, as it concentrates on the personal lives of a state prosecution investigator and a judge, involved in a 25-year manhunt.
Milan Records, so often champions of quality international film scores, has released the soundtrack album, which commences with "Her Eyes," an all-too-brief poignant piano-lead slice of romance. The heart-tugging strings of "The Doubt" follows, and then the initially rather mournful piano of "Suspicious Photo," which gives way to building suspense. The propulsive orchestral/choral opening of "Passion" gives way to more mournful strings, and then the emotional "Sandoval's Choice," with choir again adding their weight to proceedings. A poignant piano solo opens the increasingly tragic "Crime Scene," with choir again joining; the main theme returning for "The Train leaves;" and also receiving a nice cello, violin and piano treatment in "Main Theme" later on.
The score continues on its rather downbeat, doom-laden path throughout the remaining tracks, and, whilst there no doubting the quality of writing and performance, I have to say that it's quite a depressing listening experience overall. But, if you're in the mood for a good emotional wallow, you won't go far wrong in listening to this.