by Lancelot on 5/3/2002
 
Curious, isn't it? I'm not just speaking of the cover art (which becomes more understandable upon seeing the movie - which I recommend), but generally of how to convince the average browser that this may be a score worth investing in. Let me discuss the album, then the score, specifically.

It is inevitable that a story taking place within the 1960s will not in some way feature the music of the period in order to better place it. Music was certainly a key presence during this decade, influencing all levels of age and society - and it would likely be an artistic misstep not to feature it, however briefly, within the story. That said, the album opens with the full versions of a number of period songs, including the pop instrumentals of "Classical Gas" and "A Taste of Honey," which, among the period songs, do stand out to the casual listener. Overall, the songs help place the context of the story itself and, for the benefit of those who tend to avoid songs on soundtracks, have been separated from the score and not intertwined with it (e.g. Apollo 13).

Edmund Choi wrote a pleasant score for this charming comedy (based on actual events) that is set in the small town of Parkes, Austrailia during the day of the Apollo 11 lunar voyage. While the mission is a key element in the story, the film is very "down to earth" (so to speak) - lighthearted, with only a dash of melancholy, making the film and score similar in tone to The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain.

Despite the "down under" setting, there are not many cues that would signify it as such - you won't hear didjeridoos or Aboriginal music here (unlike Peter Best's Crocodile Dundee, for example). Still, there are some very pleasing celtic-like themes highlighting the townsfolk presence. In addition to these cues, there are some moments of solemn grandeur that serve not so much as the Apollo mission theme, but more as a great-moment-of-history theme, as well as to highlight the honor and pride that the people who took part in and witnessed the event feel. One might sense the James Horner influence within the score's climactic moments, though this does manage to remain pleasingly independent, while still retaining that similar feeling of wonder for the events surrounding our first years of space exploration.