MovieScore Media’s recent string of French releases is expanded with Raphaël Dargent’s intimate minimalist score for the French indie drama L’instant Présent by writer/director/actor Florian Hessique. After a fall from a horse that leaves him in a coma for almost ten years, Joshua returns to the stables he knew so well. Though he is welcomed by Mario and Alice, he recognizes neither of them. During the day, they will try to bring back some memories in the head of the man they were so close to, but has turned into a complete stranger following the accident...

The album release for the score of L’instant Présent is more an EP than a full blown LP. And given it's relatively short running time (16 min, 40 sec) you could be forgiven for wanting more than the same theme trotted out time and time again.

Normally I'm not a fan of soundtracks that rest on one main theme that is constantly redressed and represented as though the audience is too deaf to realise that it's the same piece of music. However, here it works incredibly well. It doesn't hurt that it is also a really sweet theme.

Talking about the project, composer PHAR (Raphaël Dargent), says: "What if I was given an orchestra to write music for a carousel? What would that sound like? That was the underlying concept behind the score for L'Instant Présent. The idea came naturally as horse riding is a core theme of the movie. In addition, composing music that conveys the idea of an infinite circle felt like a great fit with the narrative structure. I chose an orchestra with very little brass and arranged the music to make it feel reminiscent of childhood, with subtle and light hearted textures. It was the best way to embrace the naivety and nostalgia that the director was looking for.”

It's a beautiful, short release that is really worthy of your attention.

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Darren Rea