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Eric Serra: Subway Soundtrack

  Tobias Fischer

While the film remains a curious item, the soundtrack by Eric Serra is still worthy of attention. Serra personally starrs as „the bass player“ in Subway himself – which should seem apt, as his aggressive, precisely-cut bass lines and motoric  drum computer beats are the driving force behind his score, which emulates the coolness of Jazz with digital means and juxtaposes it with completely over-the-top Horn-fanfares and Sax solos. At other points of the film, Serra hints at Industrial culture, intertwining bleak, greyish sounds with nervously asymmetrical pulses.

Serra's soundtracks have often acted as a second layer to Besson-movies, operating in a zone of their own rather than a typical support function. Even though Subway already indicates how much space Besson was willing to award to his favourite bard's compositions (the scene below, based on somewhat untypical schmalzzy ballad "It's Only Mystery"), the movie is rather an exception than a suitable example in this regard. In contrast to works like „Léon“ and „The Fifth Element“, sound and image complement each other perfectly here, resulting in a audiovisual roller coaster ride, which completely ridicules criticism aimed its supposedly unambitious content.