Loving Strangers
Russian Red
Room in Rome
Composed by Lourdes Hernández González
Performed by Russian Red
An inescapable, if less directly comparable, piece is the erotic graphic novel series, The Lost Girls, which featured three women talking about their lives in between having passionate sex with one another. Much like our silver screen heroines, the protagonists in the novel begin with lies and gradually uncover dark secrets and ugly truths about one another.
Of course, The Lost Girls starred bizarre-o versions of Wendy Darling (Peter Pan), Alice (you guessed it, Alice in Wonderland), and Dorothy Gale (The Wizard of Oz), but the story structure and the half-cocked tone are one in the same.
The soundtrack is big, beautiful, and utterly out of place. Bold and colorful, a collection of hyperactive opera-meets-tango tunes that swell and rise with the action then, drop out completely once the moment has passed. It feels like riding an emotional subway – speedy swells and rushes come to abrupt stops, then build and crash again. It will either infuriate or exhilarate you.
The theme song is a gorgeous, unusual folk ballad, “Loving Strangers,” which weaves in and out of the movie. It’s a beautiful song, with a banjo bass line and a lilting vocal, but its sound doesn’t really fit the nature of an erotic drama. Did I mention there’s a banjo?
Separated already from the narrative of Alberto Iglesias, Julio Medem opts for a music application that is essentially aesthetic and dramatic, but that it is not built as a musical script, as brilliantly offered Iglesias. This score is elegant, beautiful and profound that delves into the sensual, highlights the colors of the film and provides a careful calmness, a brilliant combination of orchestra and voices. But it is essentially cosmetic, having no claim to any narrative. At times, it resembles the kind of music that the “Cirque du Soleil” applies to their shows, in the best sense of the reference.
Your mileage with the film will vary a great deal, depending on your tastes. It’s always wonderful to watch beautiful women cavort playfully, to talk art and love, and most of all, enjoy wildly passionate sex. The film is beautifully crafted, with out-of-this-world cinematography and strong performances.
Tracklist
- Women’s Magazine Tango
- The Painting Speaks
- Libera Me
- Caesar’s Rome
- Secret Garden
- The Room
- Adam’s Lullaby - Roman Mix
- Conversation With An Absent Father
- Aphrodite
- Strange Fish Tango
- Agora In Athens
- Meeting Place
- Enchantment
- Pompei
- Quarrel
- Body Shapes
- Il Tango Delle Rivista Femminile
- Loving Strangers
- Upset
- Contigo
