After viewing over eight films from the world of Australian cinema, one very important aspect has stuck in my mind from the first screening of "Walkabout." The music that accompanies many of these films seems inappropriate and corny in my opinion and adds nothing to the film's underlying themes or purpose. "Picnic at Hanging Rock" was definitely a perfect example in which the music made the plot laughable and took me completely out of the world that Peter Weir is attempting to create. This particular choice of soundtrack may have been intentional in this case, but I found myself getting annoyed as each dramatic scene with the rock featured the cliche horror music in attempt to make the audience as fearful as the naive girls who are intrigued by it on screen.
A more recent film, "Sweetie" featured possibly the most annoying, Gospel-like song from the very start of its opening credits. After hearing Professor Aloi specifically comment on the music, I attempted to listen with an open mind, hoping to find a connection with it to assist in understanding the film better. But from the moment I heard this choir song, I was giggling to myself a bit and found it very difficult to take the film seriously from that point on. Things only worsened after discovering the song is intermittently played during the "dramatic" scenes in Kay's life. This was very disappointing for me since this was by far the most creative of the Australian films we had seen so far. I loved how its subject and content was unlike many of the traditional Aussie features that had been screened previously.
"Proof" offered a similar distaste in music to my liking. Granted, this film was released in 1991, I still think the music could have been a bit less hokey. I momentarily forgot prior to screening that I had actually seen this film before for a Photo 2 class in which we were given an assignment based on the blind photographer and his concepts of shooting. I remember making a mental note to myself, even then, that the music was mawkishly laughable. In fact, after it had ended, someone else during the class period even commented on the choice of soundtrack. My mind immediately flashes to the scene after the vet office appointment where Martin's photos are displayed across the screen, one after another. The music almost reminded me of something out of a G-rated Disney movie, yet the subject of the film is one of great importance and hardly deserves anything close to a kid-friendly rating as the music suggests.
I am very impressed in some areas, how Australian cinema differs from the traditional high-budget, CGI integrated films that we have all become accustomed to in the US. But honestly, I think the Aussies could take a page from our book when it comes to creating soundtracks for their films. I would agree, as some of the links below mention, that many American film sountracks may be predicable and somewhat boring in one regard, but at least they aren't typically distracting in a way that diverts an audience to a state of annoyance. Surely there is someone out there who agrees with me...?
Below are a list of a few supportive links...
Classics of the Cinema
This is from an Australian online newsletter discussing the soundtrack for films and how they seem to appear useless without the existence of the film itself.
Looking Back at Looking Back
A brief overview of the DVD, "History of Australian Cinema" and highlights a few older films and the related music that accompany them.
Cinesonics and Australian Cinema
Concentrating mostly on the 1997 Australian film, "The Boys" this article also discusses film music throughout Australian cinema.
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