Set against the British Empire's 1898 campaign to reclaim the Sudan, Shekhar Kapur's redux of Zoltan Korda's 1939 mini-epic mixes romance, international intrigue, and the efforts of a British officer to redeem his honor from an act of seeming cowardice. Composer James Horner reinforces the story's romance and clash of cultures by first alternating, then interweaving the romance and tension-building of his Western orchestral music with dollops of exotic Middle Eastern motifs. World music star Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan lends his compelling vocal talents to the latter, imbuing the soundtrack with a haunting humanity that deftly brings to life the film's tragic clash of cultures--and its contemporary historic parallels. Amid this swirl of international tension and personal despair, Horner doles out the traditional melodies sparingly, a choice that makes them stand out all the more, highlighting the film's romantic dimensions in the bargain. It's a score that relies more on a subtle interplay of mood and tension than it does on epic leitmotifs, but one that skillfully creates an exotic, often somber ethos with a dramatic, almost bittersweet denouement. --Jerry McCulley
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