Je Pense à Vous
Wim Mertens
" The music by Mertens for the Dardenne films approximates well to his overall résumé. "Written by Joep de Bruijn - Review of the music as heard in the movie
Je Pense à Vous (I'm Thinking of You,1992) was the second main feature by directorial Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. In their evolution as filmmakers, the use of natural light in cinematography and sober, realistic and social commentary on themes of the Wallonia working class became recurring and important assets. Whereas they mostly rely on dialogue and the use of source music, early on few composers wrote an original, short score. In culminating efforts demonstrating their strength as filmmakers, with films such as Le Fils, La Promessa and Rosetta, any original score would have severely hurt their integrity in providing a Bressonian portrayal in these films.
Wim Mertens wrote the original score, having just come off writing an excellent score for Peter Greenaway's The Belly of the Architect. With a continuous wide array of musical tasks throughout his career, much of the music he wrote is minimal, instrumental and inspiring through its use of simple melodies moving diagonally, sometimes reflected in works with voices and singing. The music by Mertens for the Dardenne film approximates well to his overall résumé.
The film opens with a scene showing the workers of a soon-to-be-closed factory seeing the man at work and introducing the protagonist, Frabrice. Mertens' music for this is a rather serene, minimal composition called Shot One, with the piano playing the simple melody diagonally, with further creative employment of strings, woodwind and vocals, singing in clear French words, almost mysterious in their patterns and representation. It sometimes recurs, signalling the beauty of life but also the relation between Fabrice and his wife, Celine. As the factory closes, Fabrice delves into a confused state of mind, and even as he goes missing, his wife Celine, attempts to find and reunite with him through love.
The same theme, including a less broad use of musical instruments, does have an air of outdated dramatic purpose, which is very much in tune with how similar it is to the nothing- but-the-kitchen sink dramatic intent of the film. There is another recurring composition, reminiscent of the stripped outdated elements, that serves a similar purpose but is less relevant. Then again, an often heard form of criticism regarding the marginalised utilisation of instruments in Mertens works, and the same applies to most of this score, but is irrelevant in the wider appeal of his contributions to minimalism.
Looking at Mertens' short, uncomplicated minimal score, the full version of the main theme in the opening and end credits is acute. I appreciate the minimalism of Mertens throughout his career, alongside many others who excel in minimalism, serialism and other similar movements, and in all cases, to a degree, their minimalistic approach in writing for media such as film. There is still an above-average, functional purpose to the music in Je Pense a Vous, a film, unlike preceding, intense and score-less social films by the Dardenne brothers, is still an uninteresting kitchen-sink drama.
(11-10-2025)
Wim Mertens wrote the original score, having just come off writing an excellent score for Peter Greenaway's The Belly of the Architect. With a continuous wide array of musical tasks throughout his career, much of the music he wrote is minimal, instrumental and inspiring through its use of simple melodies moving diagonally, sometimes reflected in works with voices and singing. The music by Mertens for the Dardenne film approximates well to his overall résumé.
The film opens with a scene showing the workers of a soon-to-be-closed factory seeing the man at work and introducing the protagonist, Frabrice. Mertens' music for this is a rather serene, minimal composition called Shot One, with the piano playing the simple melody diagonally, with further creative employment of strings, woodwind and vocals, singing in clear French words, almost mysterious in their patterns and representation. It sometimes recurs, signalling the beauty of life but also the relation between Fabrice and his wife, Celine. As the factory closes, Fabrice delves into a confused state of mind, and even as he goes missing, his wife Celine, attempts to find and reunite with him through love.
The same theme, including a less broad use of musical instruments, does have an air of outdated dramatic purpose, which is very much in tune with how similar it is to the nothing- but-the-kitchen sink dramatic intent of the film. There is another recurring composition, reminiscent of the stripped outdated elements, that serves a similar purpose but is less relevant. Then again, an often heard form of criticism regarding the marginalised utilisation of instruments in Mertens works, and the same applies to most of this score, but is irrelevant in the wider appeal of his contributions to minimalism.
Looking at Mertens' short, uncomplicated minimal score, the full version of the main theme in the opening and end credits is acute. I appreciate the minimalism of Mertens throughout his career, alongside many others who excel in minimalism, serialism and other similar movements, and in all cases, to a degree, their minimalistic approach in writing for media such as film. There is still an above-average, functional purpose to the music in Je Pense a Vous, a film, unlike preceding, intense and score-less social films by the Dardenne brothers, is still an uninteresting kitchen-sink drama.
(11-10-2025)