The covers of “Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Boy and the Heron” and “Call Me By Your Name” as they appear in my Letterboxd top four. (Photo from Letterboxd)
Media consumption, whether music, books or — as cinephiles suggest — movies, has to be one of my favorite pastimes. There’s something so transcendent about being lost in the world of someone else’s creativity — it feels so intensely human.
A particular media intersection that I find myself spiraling towards quite often is music and movies. The thing that makes a specific scene in a movie memorable for me is always the music. Whether that be an already released song by an artist or an original track, the perfect pairing of music and scene exudes whimsy.
There’s quite a bountiful list of great songs appearing in movies that I love, but, for the sake of time, I’ll be covering three standouts in this article. Funny enough, all of these songs also come from some of my favorite movies — although I suppose this does make sense.
The first song I want to talk about comes from Valerie Faris and Jonathon Dayton’s 2006 film “Little Miss Sunshine.” If you have seen the movie, you probably know the song I’ll be talking about, DeVotchKa and Mychael Danna’s “The Winner Is.”
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To give you a bit of background on the film, “Little Miss Sunshine” follows the Hoover family as they take a road trip heading to California for Olive Hoover to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine Contest.
With themes of dysfunctionality, mental illness and coming of age, the movie is gut-wrenching but optimistically hopeful and nostalgic. And, let me tell you, “The Winner Is” absolutely reflects that.
Featuring repetitive lulling synth chords and a hypnotic piano line, the song has this way of capturing all of the emotional ups and downs of the movie into a perfect 3-minute package. The song plays during the opening scene and is the perfect intro to the film.
Kid you not, anytime I listen to the song, I shed a tear; it’s so beautiful and moving in a masterful way.
I am proud to say I was raised on Studio Ghibli movies, particularly the ones directed by the iconic Hayao Miyazaki.
Besides being some of the best pieces of animation on this earth, the thing putting the cherry on top is that most of Miyazaki’s film scores are composed by the infamous Joe Hisaishi. There’s an unparalleled essence to Hisaishi’s compositions that captures so much wonder, mourning and bliss.
One of my favorite compositions comes from Miyazaki’s most recent film, 2023’s “The Boy and the Heron.”
The film follows 12-year-old Mahito as he navigates the death of his mother, stumbling upon a talking heron and discovering an alternate world in his own backyard. There’s definitely more to the film than that, but I’ll leave it up to you to watch and find out what.
“Ask Me Why (Mother’s Message)” is a pivotal song in “The Boy and the Heron,” a symbolic representation of Mahito’s memories, grief and connection with his mother. Listeners can sense the emotional narrative the song invokes.
Beginning with a haunting yet hopeful set of piano chords, the song has this fluid and emotive feeling to it. Featuring minimal instruments, save the piano, listeners become attunely aware of Mahito’s emotional state through this thematically central song.
The final song I want to talk about — at least in this article — is the song featured in the opening credits of Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 film, “Call Me By Your Name.”
Now, before I begin talking about the song, I must admit something to you guys. I was originally on the “Call Me By Your Name” hate train for a little bit. Unfortunately, I tapped into the conversations critiquing the nature of the age gap relationships the film presents circa 2020 — and I ran with it.
However, I also must admit I hadn’t tapped into the movie before seeing this discourse. But, trust after seeing the movie for myself, those critiques dissipated very quickly — with the movie now being one of my favorite films of all time.
The film follows 17-year-old Elio living with his family in Italy when his father, a distinguished academic, has an academic assistant visiting from the States. Throughout the summer, Elio and this assistant, Oliver, fall in love.
“Hallelujah Junction: 1st Movement” is the song playing during the opening credits of “Call Me By Your Name.” Composed by John Adams to be performed by two pianos, the song is rhythmic, light and playful.
The song mirrors the plot of the movie — the nature of a summer-time love you know has to end.
Instrumentals are my favorite type of music to study or do work alongside, and “Hallelujah Junction: 1st Movement” has been a favorite of mine to put on while writing (I’m listening to it as I write now).
Music is something so powerful, so moving, it makes complete sense to me that some of my favorite movies of all time feature such incredible songs.
I urge you, readers, to pay attention to your favorite movies and maybe, just maybe, how the songs in them play into your liking.
Hirata can be reached at [email protected].