David Aboucaya's original score for Winter War is available via Plaza Mayor Company. The movie is set in January 1945 and follows the first French regiment of paratroopers to fight with an American unit as they prepare to liberate Alsace in France during World War II...

I was really impressed with director / composer David Aboucaya's subtle score for Winter War. This is a beautifully reflective soundtrack that is emotionally charged. It's wonderfully melancholic, without leaning on cliches to get its message across. Aboucaya was also responsible for composing the music for The Cross Roads (Enfer 44)and War Trap, both with similar subject matters. However I found the music here, on Winter War, to be his most satisfying of the three.

There's a slight nod and wink to the gothic work of Danny Elfman (in particular his score for Batman) on tracks like 'Winter War'. In addition 'The Encounter' and 'They Will Return' reminded me of Nathan McCree's score for the original Tomb Raider game. However this is probably due to synthesisers used to create the "symphonic sounds". For Tomb Raider McCree used the Roland Corporation's Orchestral Expansion board for their JV series keyboards and, in places, Winter War has a similar overall sound to that.

There are 29 tracks (51 min, 37 sec) here. And it's interesting to note just how many solid, memorable themes are packed in. This is a score you'll need to listen to numerous times to get the most out of it. I've been listening to it for weeks and almost every time I go back to it I spot something new I'd overlooked on previous listens.

It's rich, varied and incredibly mellow. This is a wonderfully, subtle score that keeps on rewarding.

9

Darren Rea