"Mesmeric cinematography and an impactful score make for an unforgettable journey [...]"
Toronto International Film Festival
"From the score to the gestures, the tone of voice and the words exchanged, it’s an ode to the radical possibilities of tenderness."
BFI
"Andre Matthias’s score is an appealing component."
Screen Daily
"[...] supported by André Matthias’ sombre, inward looking score that finds a way to pierce the soul."
SpoilerTV
"[...] subtle but still effective, the orchestration and instrumentation creating a sound and a style that is haunting."
Movie Music International
"[...] pendant que la belle musique composée par Andre Matthias transporte les spectateurs sur ce sol où l’adversité soude les hommes plus naturellement que lorsque les conditions offertes sont plus luxueuses."
Sens Critique
„La musique de Andre Matthias renforce la portée universelle du récit, en amplifiant le drame.“
Africiné
"D'autant que les images et la musique sont belles, et que les comédiens sont très bons."
Abus de Ciné
GAZA MON AMOUR
"The combination of a stunningly romantic score by Andre Matthias and cinematography by Christophe Graillot also create a sense of amorous magical realism [...]"
Cinema Escapist
"La musica, (Andre Matthias), delicata ma “densa” della storia raccontata, accompagna le azioni dell’uomo e della donna, rendendo la loro realtà quotidiana meritevole di attenzione."
Different Magazine
"A bela e forte música orquestrada por Andre Matthias somada à melancolia da trama só não tornam o filme pesado e sombrio devido a sensibilidade de seus personagens."
Quarta Parede POP
"Matthias [...] compone un trabajo que, a juzgar por las pistas de sonido, es emotivo, delicado y tierno, extrayendo el máximo jugo posible a los elementos orquestales con los que construye su partitura, especialmente la cuerda."
AsturScore
"Con un excelente guion de los hermanos Nasser, una música meritoria de Andre Matthias y una excelente fotografía de Christophe Graillot [...]"
Encadenados - Revista de Cine
WISH YOU WERE HERE
"“Wish You Were Here” carries through it a prevailing sense of beauty, that still stays noticeable through the film’s more somber moments. At the forefront of creating this atmosphere is the score by Andre Matthias [...]. The combination of the soundtrack with Bi’s visuals melds in a romantic and beautiful way that few productions are able to accomplish."
Asian Movie Pulse
"Wish You Were Here is visually stunning, and takes advantage of its soundtrack and strong acting to evoke plenty of emotions, a sense of familiarity and peace, as well as feelings of nostalgia."
The Reel Roundup
"Piano, guitare, dizi, shakuhachi, harmonica, trio à cordes, chanson lynchienne : laissez-vous porter ! Grâce à ces voix diversifiées, Matthias dépasse la base atmosphérique de ses compositions pour leur donner du cœur : rêveuses et belles dans leur épure, elles méritent plus qu’une oreille lointaine. Glad I was here."
UnderScores - Le Magazine de la Musique de Film
"Throughout the film, Matthias uses a mixture of intricately orchestrated strings and chords from a mournful piano to help build up the darker elements hiding beneath this film’s surface."
Dallas Movie Screenings
"The soundtrack to Wish You Were Here straddles the line between score and classical music."
Review Graveyard
Interview with Kenneth Bi:
Being comfortable with one’s own heritage really is another way of becoming comfortable with who one is
CENTAUR
"Full of humor and sad-eyed wisdom, set to a horsehoof drumbeat and to Andre Matthias’ sparingly used, romantic score [...]"
Variety
"This tonal aura surrounds the character and his actions and becomes a captivating tone poem when heard on its own. The score’s textures are gathered together into a beautifully languid melodic theme that lends gravitas to the story’s concept and action."
Randall Larson's Soundtrax
"If you're a fan of subtle scores which really capture the theme and flavour of the movie when played in isolation, then you'll get much out of the soundtrack to Centaur."
Review Graveyard
BLESSED BENEFIT
"Andre Matthias delivers an intricate and, at times, hauntingly satisfying score for Blessed Benefit."
Review Graveyard
"Il se débrouille toujours aussi bien, Andre Matthias ! Ici, c’est avec un petit thème plaisant et sautillant qu’il nous entraine dans une aventure douce-amère où l’émotion d’une petite section de cordes se partage le territoire avec l’ironie sous-jacente de la guitare et d’un duduk flirtant habilement avec la world music sans jamais vraiment y pénétrer totalement."
UnderScores - Le Magazine de la Musique de Film
"Andre Matthias consigue, desde la sencillez, componer un trabajo sólido y más complejo de lo que pudiera parecer."
Paper Blog - Las mejores bandas sonoras de 2017
LOST FOR WORDS
"This is how a love theme should sound like; this is the sound of true love. Just a sweepingly beautiful theme."
soundtrackdreams.com
"The music will cast a romantic spell on you for sure, and it doesn’t feel or sound like your typical Hollywood romantic drama. In fact it’s in the score’s small and quiet stretches, and thankfully there are lots, where the music truly shines."
Film.Music.Media
"Lost for Words is a subtle and refined work that brings in gentle melodies and ethnic eclecticism without succumbing to cheesiness and/or cheap melodrama. It’s a quiet and contemplative album and certainly deserves attention."
Moviedrone
"It's a lovingly crafted collection of emotional tracks that will find a welcome home in any softie's soundtrack collection."
Review Graveyard
"[...] as a stand alone album, the Lost for Words Soundtrack is a beautiful listen all by itself."
G-POP
"It is a very pretty score. It sounds delicate (fragile even) most of the time."
Synchrotones' Soundtrack Reviews
"Au final, André MATTHIAS signe une partition résolument plaisante, baignant à la fois dans des lignes mélodiques recherchées et dans des sonorités emplies de delicatesse. On apprécie en particulier la générosité des cordes associées aux mouvements de guitares et aux sonorités plus asiatiques comme les flûtes shakuhachi. Il en ressort alors une véritable révélation pour merveille de musique de film romantique ; une partition plus que recommandable !"
CINESERENADE.COM
"Sonorités fragiles de guitares, violoncelle, harpe, flûtes et même des chœurs sur la fin. Matthias joue avec les clichés musicaux évoquant l’Asie et intègre du Bach avec astuce. Délicat et joli, sans être mièvre."
UnderScores - Le Magazine de la Musique de Film
FOUR ASSASSINS
"5/5 You cannot go wrong on this score."
Six Strings
"Andre Matthias's score for 4 Assassins contains some interesting themes. In particular, I loved the repetitive haunting main theme that opens and closes the album, as well as the stripped down version that is at the core of 'Is That All I Meant to You?' It's almost hypnotic in its execution. [...] This is well worth checking out."
Review Graveyard
"Matthias' music on its own is a very interesting and romantically tense effort that is very engaging and does have moments of warmth amidst the darkness of the film. He also supports the tense nature of each protagonist and the film's setting to a perfect musical tee."
Examiner.com
"The original music by Andre Matthias was interesting and effective."
Michael D's Region 4 DVD Info Page
THE LIGHT THIEF
"The long, sustained pitches of the traditional Kyrgyz music that is the film's soundtrack add to the woeful nostalgia [...]."
The Hollywood Reporter
"The small film benefits from the honesty of Matthias’ score, which in its folk melodic structure and ethnic instrumentation lends a supportive verisimilitude to Kubat’s gentle film. The music is sublime, drawn from acoustic folk traditions with hauntingly beautiful melodies set on serene cadences."
Randall Larson's Soundtrax
"The film's use of traditional Kyrgyz soundtrack, along with cinematic pans of the rugged but beautiful landscape, makes for a great viewing."
Illume
"[...] la sonorité bienveillante, chaude mais mesurée du duduk le nimbe notamment d’une aura de réconfort tandis que la sobre mais très belle ligne mélodique, selon qu’elle soit franche ou discrète, lui confère une impression mêlée de force tranquille et de relative fragilité."
UnderScores - Le Magazine de la Musique de Film
Article (in German):
Mit leisen Tönen an die Spitze (PDF)
published in "zoom - Das Magazin der Filmemacher"
THE DRUMMER
"Aside from Sam Koa's attractive lensing of the rural Taiwan locations, German composer Andre Matthias' chamber-like score is also a powerful assist, with mournful cello solos and subtle string writing adding genuine emotion to the final reels."
Variety
"The lushly somber, cello-dominated score also helps to add a spiritual element to the screen, which combined with the supposed mystical properties of traditional drumming techniques to produce an aesthetically-pleasing near-masterpiece."
Moviexclusive
"Matthias’ score is richly evocative with splendid use of acoustic writing (especially in strings and woodwinds) which provides a fascinating textural mélange."
Randall Larson's Soundtrax
"Andre Matthias’ original score is a marvel [...]."
JWR
"[...] one of the biggest things going for this film is the score by Andre Matthias [...]."
LateNite Films
"Stupendamente fotografato da Sam Koa, il film può contare su un'intensa colonna sonora composta da Andre Matthias e, naturalmente, sulle sorprendenti scene con i percussionisti che praticano nella natura."
Rapporto Confidenziale
"Die Trommelklänge und auch die restliche Musik geben dem Film ein angenehmes Flair und runden die Geschichte als Ganzes ab."
OutNow
"Kenneth Bi arbeitet mit großer Musik, sehr schönen Bildern und mutigen Montagen, die mehr den inneren Gefühlswelten als der äußeren Dramaturgie folgen."
Filmtabs.de
"[...] sehens- und hörenswert: Der Film schwelgt in der umwerfenden Schönheit der taiwanesischen Landschaft und wartet mit einer kraftvollen klassischen Musik aus der Feder des deutschen Komponisten Andre Matthias auf."
ARD
"Und dass der mal brachial donnernde, mal fein pulsierende Soundtrack eine Klasse für sich ist, dürfte eh klar sein."
Hamburger Abendblatt
"Wunderschöne Landschaften, grandiose Musik [...]."
Oxmox
Interviews:
Filmkomponist Matthias goes East (German)
Six Strings - Season 2 Issue 2 (Interview with composer Andre Matthias) (PDF)
Article:
The Sound of THE DRUMMER
