Ghost In The Shell
L'attacco dei cyborg: Original Soundtrack by Kenji Kawai

Who has recently seen "Ghost In The Shell: L'attacco dei Cyborg" in the cinema, or at least who is a fan of this manga? Well, what I am about to review is the collection of soundtracks for the animated film made in Japan, which has now also landed in the Bel paese. Quite honestly, not much of the film stuck with me, but the musical work left a strong impression, so much so that I bought the CD.

Each track has a different genre, ranging from psychedelic to jazz, from traditional Japanese music to blues. The piece that opens the CD as well as the film is "The Ballade Of Puppets: Flowers Grieve And Fall," a traditional Japanese music piece, spectacular because it is sung by a choir of 135 people accompanied by the sound of Japanese drums. To make it even more mysterious and impactful, it was recorded under a cave to enhance the echo effect. Then it transitions to two Jazz pieces, featuring one of the most famous jazz artists in Japan: Kimiko Itoh. "River of Crystals" showcases all of Kimiko's talent, while "Follow me," the track accompanying the end credits of the film, is a very melancholic but equally beautiful song. "Attack The Wakabayashi" is a very engaging instrumental piece, one of those used in films to accompany action scenes, and Kenji Kawai did a fantastic job pairing it with the film's climax. "The Doll House I" and "The Doll House II" are two very slow pieces, accompanied by a keyboard that calls to mind the movements of a doll, which is one of the theories the film is based on.

In short: The film itself is very complicated to understand (at least for me) as there are too many references, and some of the characters' dialogues are based on the Philosophy between dolls and Gods; however, the plot is there, and it's not bad. To give you an idea, the dialogues of this "dramatic manga" are an authentic anthology of sentences, heavily tinged with pessimism. As for the soundtrack, it is perfect both as an accompaniment to the film and for listening to without the aid of the video.