Plaza Mayor Company Ltd release Hernán González Villamil's score for Portrait of my Father, a film by Juan Ignacio Fernández Hoppe that explores the death of the filmmaker's father. The director was just eight years old when his father’s body was found on a beach. His mother, a psychiatrist, decided an autopsy was unnecessary, even though his father had been depressed and had psychiatric medication among his belongings. Thirty years later, the filmmaker tries to find out what happened, who his father was and how his mother arrived at her decision...

Portrait of my Father is a film about loss, depression and love, as well as an exploration of what a person’s tangible legacy can be, and how difficult that is to capture. Two questions pervade this film. Firstly, how did the director's father die? Did he commit suicide? Was it an accident? And secondly, how did he live? Or rather, what for?

The soundtrack is short, consisting of 11 tracks (15 min, 51 sec) and while not an easy listen, it's mainly comprised of reflective, gentle if eerie themes. There's a real sense of mystery, unease and horror-esque themes in the opening 'Ignacio, José and Alicia', which sets the tone for the rest of the score.

It uses electroacoustic elements, as well as making use of percussive piano strings, a toy piano, singing glasses, violin body tapping, and a wide range of other resources to deliver a truly original and unsettling score. I found it fascinating, unique and totally compelling.

It won't be to everybody's taste, but I found it to be a mesmerising work of art.

7

Darren Rea