https://www.colonnesonore.net/recensioni/cinema/9554-my-love-affair-with-marriage.html
Translation
In 2014, the label MovieScore Media released the OST of “Rock in My Pockets” (read our review), composed by our own Kristian Sensini for the animated film by New York writer, artist, and director of Latvian origin, Signe Baumane. The film won 7 prestigious awards and received 6 nominations at renowned festivals around the world. The original music was nominated for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) and the Jerry Goldsmith Awards, and it also won the readers’ choice award for Best Foreign Score in our magazine in 2014. Last year, Baumane and Sensini collaborated once again on another adult-themed animated film titled “My Love Affair With Marriage,” with the score produced by MovieScore Media once again. The film is in the running for an Oscar in the Best Animated Film category and has already won 14 awards and received 21 nominations worldwide, including a score nomination at the Latvian National Film Festival. The story, told with clever mastery and delicate satire, is almost like a Yiddish musical and drama in the style of “Yentl.” It revolves around a spirited young woman named Zelma, who is determined to conform to the pressures of the Sirens of Mythology in order to be loved. But the more she conforms, the more her body resists. It’s a plot of internal female rebellion outlined with the visionary irony and irreverence, brutality and biting wit that are characteristic of the author. The animated drawings have an old-fashioned style, dreamily Felliniesque, with surreal dynamics reminiscent of Monty Python and Roland Topor (the cult film “Fantastic Planet” from 1973 directed by René Laloux). The music, composed by Sensini from the Marche region, is served in a highly engaging and intelligent manner, spanning almost 48 minutes of score, including tribal passages, Klezmer melodies, 60s and 70s Off-Broadway-style songs, and ethereal leitmotifs. Let’s go track by track (almost): “Opening Title Music” begins with a church organ and elegiac female vocalizations (Trio Limonāde), which take on the form of a Christmas carol with a light melody. “Enter Zelma” has a tribal sound with deep Tibetan male vocal effects taking the lead, along with didgeridoo and various other ethnic instrumental interventions in the background, emphasizing something wild and unconventional about the protagonist. It is accompanied by a lively airy theme that tries to find its way through all the percussive and brutal noise. “Soul Mate” is a Clannad-style song, poetically gentle, with harp and cello providing the backdrop for the enchanting voice of Trio Limonāde. “Zelma’s Goodbye” is a short funeral march for strings and brushes. “First Maris Fantasy” is the instrumental base for the song “Soul Mate”. “Elita’s Song” is a new frivolous and irreverent pop song, very 70s, reminiscent of Burt Bacharach and Marvin Hamlisch, performed by the aforementioned trio, along with Dagmara Dominczyk (Zelma’s voice) and Erica Schroeder (Elita’s voice) dialoguing in the film. “Neural Connections” brings us back to tribalism, much like “Enter Zelma”: ethnic percussive acts that are nothing other than the leitmotif of the protagonist, highlighting her internal rebellions against a community that cannot understand her, feeling oppressed. “Second Maris Fantasy” resonates ethereally with the harp in the foreground. “Love Fantasy” has an abstractly elegiac aspect, albeit brief. On the other hand, “Self Control” with the Jew’s harp and mixed tribal percussion sounds mysterious. “Mother’s Song,” performed by the trio along with counterpoint dialogues by Dagmara Dominczyk and Florencia Lozano (Zelma’s mother’s voice), is a beat-jazz song in the style of “Yentl,” with a musical flavor reminiscent of Bob Fosse. It’s like rock in “Sex Appeal,” reminiscent of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. “Zelma’s Bones” pumps out a cardiac sensation of tangled broken bones, followed by “Poberty,” which becomes synthetically and percussively mysterious and suspenseful. There’s dancing Klezmer music in “Jonas’ Fantasy.” Funky groove and 70s rockabilly in the song “Virginity” by Trio Limonāde. “Sergei’s Fairy Tale,” performed by a solo gypsy violin, sounds melancholic and reminiscent at the beginning, then ventures into Yiddish musical territory reminiscent of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Hindu belly dance rhythms are present in “Cortisol” and “Dissolution of Self,” but they are more meditative. “Zelma’s Room,”composed of harp and strings, has a dreamy and delicate atmosphere. “Last Maris Fantasy” is a wistful and introspective piece for piano and strings. “Climbing the Walls” is a tense and dissonant track, reflecting the internal struggle of the protagonist. “Zelma’s Apotheosis” has a triumphant and uplifting quality, with soaring strings and choir. Overall, Kristian Sensini’s score for “Rock in My Pockets” is a diverse and evocative work that captures the essence of the film’s themes and characters. The music spans various genres and styles, from tribal and ethnic influences to Yiddish musical elements and 70s pop-rock flavors. Sensini’s compositions effectively enhance the storytelling and emotional depth of the film, providing a captivating musical backdrop to the animated visuals.