The Joy Luck Club

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Now this is Rachel Portman in Chinese overload. The Joy Luck Club is blessed with a beautiful emotional impact, is handled with kindness and with flair supported, we wouldn't expect any different coming from Rachel Portman. But the problem (usually) lies with the extensive use of the movie's main theme. Not only that but many tracks simply begin the same way and I do mean that literally, the music simply remains in the same old mood. This of course is all nice and the music itself has a pure heart but as a consistent listen this might fail for the fans, it is all about putting the interest right up there and it might become a bit over used. Still The Joy Luck Club does offer some gorgeous moments when Portman goes in full emotion, which we all know she can do as the best of her profession. The extensive use of the native flute starts half of the tracks on the same way and in many ways there isn't much difference in most of the moments. Those that do count are when Rachel Portman starts to explore the sheer heart and friendship of the main characters, guiding the music to a powerful climax witnessed in such tracks as 'June Meets Her Twin Sisters', 'Tiger in the Trees' and 'End Title'.

But as explained before the problem isn't the music itself, but the lack of a consistent second theme or a moment that sounds different, in a way it is the Joy Luck Club's only real problem. Still, those magical moments alone will please many Portman fans, because we are talking about vintage Portman here. But for others who are seeking more then just some fine moments, this might sound as a repeated form. The Joy Luck Club is a charming soundtrack and it contains some excellent musical moments but despite its positive remarks there is also the negative one. The entire music doesn't really diverse from its tone and in the end it definitely cries for more difference. Pick your favorite moments and put them together and you'll probably come up with a serious amount of score, but delete those that sound practically the same and then it's about a good 10 minutes of score. Portman fans will love every second of it, but consistently it lacks a good amount of diverse material. Worthy to check out though.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. The Story Of The Swan (2.33)

2. Escape From Guillin (5.36)

3. Lindo's Story (1.51)

4. Best Quality Heart (2.29)

5. Upturned Chairs (1.59)

6. June Meets Her Twin Sisters (3.00) Excellent Track

7. His Little Spirit Had Flown Away (3.36)

8. An-Mei's Mother Returns (1.51)

9. Most Important Sacrifice (2.46)

10. Tiger In The Trees (3.24)

11. Lindo's Last Night (3.33)

12. The Babies (4.05)

13. An-Mei's New Home (2.41)

14. Swan Feather (0.52)

15. End Titles (3.15) Excellent Track

Total Length: 44.06

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Rachel Portman ===