Limited Edition of 100 copies Label: KMRCD 051 Film Date: 2020 Album Date: 2021 Tracks: 15 Time: 42:05
KeepMoving Records’ latest collaboration with Yuri Poteyenko is Doctor Liza, based on a unique true story.
Directed by Oksana Karas, Doctor Liza tells the story of Russian humanitarian Elizaveta Glinka (Chulpan Khamatova), whose wedding anniversary takes an unexpected turn when she decides to help a young girl in trouble. By compressing several true events from Liza’s life into one action-packed day, the film shows just how the life of a social worker can get as she must balance between the challenges of private life while also helping those left behind by the failing health care system.
The music by Yuri Poteyenko is a hybrid thriller score featuring a small ensemble of string players mixed in with suspenseful electronic passages to capture the essence of the human drama. Though the first half of the film is left mostly unscored, the second half features a variety of exciting mystery cues while also adding a bit of heist music into the mix as Doctor Liza takes it upon herself to possibly break the law as she tries to help out. The CD also premieres Poteyenko’s original conception of the opening sequence which eventually went unused.
The liner notes by Gergely Hubai discuss the film, its hero and of course the musical score, featuring original comments from the composer himself.
This finds Y-Pot working in a much more modern/ambient nature. Small in scale (only 3 performers are credited for Violin, Viola & Cello...with piano/keyboard/electronics backing things up), it's quite similar to what passes for dramatic scoring these days. It's mainly musical in nature thankfully. Things rarely descend into outright drones and sound FX. But in comparison to his more traditional fare, it's much more of an acquired taste. Thomas Newman and vibey Danny Elfman music was probably featured in the temp track, if there was one. The last few tracks are the best to me, when the piano and acoustic instruments feature most prominently (The Big Family/14 and the title track/15 are particularly nice).
As I stated in another thread. Poteyenko has crafted a very fine score of beautiful sadness. I am very engaged with this music. I'd love to see this film.
