DRAGNET GIRL Score for the feature film, directed by Yasujirō Ozu, 1933

Abstract

Dive into the enigmatic world of Dragnet Girl, where composer E.E Ese crafts a soundscape that navigates the blurred lines between good and evil. With deliberate pauses as the brushstrokes, Ebenezer heightens the atmosphere of unrequited love, sinister motives, mischief, and the allure of the gangster life. The concert opens with haunting gestures, setting the stage for a suspenseful narrative. Intentional caesuras draw the audience into a world of concealed motives, each silence resonating with the complexity of emotions. As the film unfolds, silence becomes dramatic punctuation, building anticipation of the mounting drama. Tokiko’s theme, marked by rolling groups of three notes, à la Moonlight sonata, introduces the audience to the clandestine atmosphere where the narrative unfolds. Deliberate pauses creates a sense of anticipation, between the characters with musical passages transitioning from the guitar, to the bassoon, and the harp, showing a myriad or colors and emotions, drawing listeners into a realm where every note played is a plea for love, with unspoken emotions and hidden secrets. As the film progresses, the music becomes a repository for the characters inner turmoil. The composer utilizes pauses and melodic leaps as a powerful tool to express the emotional effects of longing and loss, juxtaposed against the fast melodic passages used to maintain pacing, allowing the narrative tension to build organically. The heart of Dragnet Girl lies in the illusion of good and evil, as the composer takes the audience on a journey of what might be, or not. Allow the deliberate pauses to draw you into the shadows, into the gray of love and gangsters, experiencing the nuanced emotions that unfold in this musical chiaroscuro.