Sister Rust Lucy is a 2014 science fiction action thriller film directed by Luc Besson and starring Scarlett Johansson. The film follows the story of Lucy, a woman who is forced to become a drug mule for a group of gangsters. When she is accidentally […]

Alma Alma is a hauntingly beautiful instrumental piece composed by Gustavo Santaolalla from his 2014 album Camino. The song is performed on the ronroco, a traditional South American string instrument, and it features a simple but mesmerizing melody that evokes a sense of longing and […]

Vladimir’s Blues Vladimir’s Blues is a short, but haunting piece of music by Max Richter. It was first released in 2004 on his album The Blue Notebooks, and has since become one of his most popular and enduring works. The piece is named after Vladimir […]

Once Upon a Dream The 2014 film Maleficent is a dark retelling of the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, the evil fairy who curses Princess Aurora to fall into a deep sleep on her sixteenth birthday. The film’s […]

Their Pie Alexander Payne’s 2013 film Nebraska is a bittersweet road movie about an aging man, Woody Grant (Bruce Dern), who believes he has won a million dollars in a sweepstakes. His estranged son, David (Will Forte), reluctantly agrees to drive him to Lincoln, Nebraska […]

Home Gustavo Santaolalla is an Argentine composer and musician who is known for his innovative and atmospheric soundtracks. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score for his work on Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006). Santaolalla’s soundtrack for the video game The […]

Django Unchained Django Unchained is a 2012 American Spaghetti Western neo-noir film directed, written, and co-produced by Quentin Tarantino. The film’s theme song is a re-recording of “Django” by Luis Bacalov, from the 1966 film Django. How to play the Django Unchained Theme (Resources: learn […]

Riding Horses (This post and tab have been updated as of 8/31/20) Riding Horses is one of my favorite selections from Gustavo Santaolalla’s iconic, Academy Award winning score for Brokeback Mountain. It’s truly one Gustavo Santaolalla’s most beautiful melodies. The actual piece is two separate […]

Lima Lima is one of my favorite tracks from Gustavo Santaolalla’s The Motorcycle Diaries soundtrack. Rather than his usual minimalist approach, Lima really displays Santaolalla’s guitar prowess. I had an opportunity to see Gustavo Santaolalla play live in Pittsburgh with his band Bajofondo. Rather than a […]

[Updated September 2017] Biutiful Biutiful stars Javier Bardem and is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant, Birdman). Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. Uxbal (Bardem) is a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, guilt, and mortality amidst the […]

The Motorcycle Diaries The Motorcycle Diaries is considered to be one of Gustavo Santaolalla’s greatest film scores. The film depicts the complex human and social landscape of South America in the early 1950’s. The film, directed by Walter Salles, is adapted from the journals of […]