Movie soundtracks do this, don’t they? They serve as a preview of a film; what to expect from it, three to five minutes at a time. But it certainly baffles me as to how much of a full, unperturbed experience soundtracks can offer if they only do that. So the question is: Should they tell a different story on their own? How exactly would a movie soundtrack complement the, you know, movie?

Okay, I’m going off the grid for a bit here, but this is the thought I kept arriving at as I was listening to the soundtrack for Nia Dinata’s upcoming musical feature film Ini Kisah Tiga Dara (The Story of Three Girls) — a loosely-based adaptation of Usmar Ismail’s legendary 1957 film Tiga Dara.

Much like the characters and the settings, the songs here aren’t petty regurgitations of the movie’s relic of a soundtrack; these are new songs weaved together by the very idea of having watched the movie, which makes the whole move of releasing it earlier than the film sort of weird.

Good news is that the songs here are deftly produced and expertly performed. Not all, but the ones that are will truly blow you away. I only have one word and a name to lend credentials to my claim: Theatricality and Titiek Puspa.

It’s hard to sell Titiek Puspa’s grace because, well, doesn’t her stature kind of already say it all? Regardless, it suffices to say that she brings the best out of this soundtrack; she lends effervescence to the track “Tiga Dara”, forlornness to the thrilling opener “The Beginning”, (did you catch the contrast over there?) and a thud on “Matriarch”.

Handled by Aghi Narottama and Bembi Gusti — both are known for their cinematic film scores and their work in the band Sore — Ini Kisah Tiga Dara is a showcase in musical versatility: From jazz in “Anak Dara”, sung harrowingly by Shanty — presumably as Gendhes, her character; folk in “Semesta Punya Cara”, sung by actor/singer Reuben Elishama; to indie rock in “Leave the Past Behind” sung loudly, but unconvincingly, by actor Rio Dewanto.

Listening to the soundtrack, you can’t help but wonder if, perhaps, these two guys have one thing in mind — a musical thread, if you will. Thanks to the largely gorgeous string arrangement, Ini Kisah Tiga Dara can totally be mistaken as a Broadway-type musical; the horns are playful and the score is largely based on the jazz-playbook.

What exemplifies this best is the song “Matriarch”, which not only features some stomping theatrics — think Barbra Streisand’s “Don’t Rain on My Parade” — but also hilarious lyrics in which Titiek Puspa’s character becomes the three sisters’ well-meaning enemy.

Which brings me back to my earlier qualms about the record. To the makers’ credit, it starts off promisingly by juxtaposing menial activities — “Belanja yang alami/tanpa bahan kimiawi” (Shopping for natural things/with no chemicals) — with a terse comment on larger issues — “Perempuan tua muda/berjualan bersahaja/merekalah penentu ekonomi keluarga” (Old and young women/selling graciously/they’re the breadwinners of their families) — but as the soundtrack wears on, it loses its sense of continuity and thus its adventurousness.

All of a sudden, these are just good songs. Which, if you’re lucky to be able to get through it without overthinking it, is totally fine.

Ini Kisah Tiga Dara will be screened in September, a month after the soundtrack dropped. By listening to the soundtrack, we don’t have much to guess about the story — maybe Titiek Puspa’s character is bossy? Rio Dewanto’s an angry character, perhaps?

Although largely built around some really great music, you can’t help but feel that this soundtrack won’t give you new layers about the movie that you might have missed out. Chances are, you’ve already seen all of them.

— Stanley Widianto

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