There is a lot of music in this elegiac, gently-paced film; I enjoyed the folk-songs the children sing and was glad to have the translations. But what surprised me was the use of British traditional tunes, not to mention a Victorian hymn, in the background music.
I heard -
Annie Laurie
What a friend we have in Jesus
Home Sweet Home
Auld Lang Syne
The Last Rose of Summer
Anyone notice any more?
Yes, the music is extremely evocative. One piece which is prominent in the film is called "The Parting" or "Song of Farewell" in its oriental versions. You can find these versions on "YouTube".
Far more popular in China and Japan than in the United States, the song is actually based on the parlor song, "Dreaming of Home and Mother" by the 19th century composer, John Pond Ordway.
I was surprised to encounter all these Western songs in the movie, too. Oddly enough, a fairly recent Asian film, the 1998 Takashi Miike film "The Bird People in China," uses the song Annie Laurie as an important plot element.
Truth be told, it got a little tiring to hear the repeated strains of Auld Lang Syne as the movie played out. It was a nice touch at first, then it became sort of overkill.
"It's going to get worse before it gets better." - The White House
I loved the movie but thought the music, especially, Auld Lang Syne and Home Sweet Home seemed out of place and I agree with Eric, overkill. Would love to view a version of the movie minus the 'western' music.
shareYes! The song "At the Seashore"(?) which the girl sings on the ferry, and again is sung at the party at the end of the movie, is played on the radio every morning in Hilo, Hawaii. Or at least it was, when I lived there. It's a VERY well known song in Hawaii, and I also remember a certain street musician playing it on his flute outside a supermarket -- the manager would always give him a tip.
So it was great for me to see the song, and learn what the words meant (all I ever heard in Hawaii was instrumental versions without words)
I missed "Moshi-moshi ano ne", however. The only Japanese children's song I learned as a child.
"Auld Lang Syne" was not the song in the movie. The song was Hotaru No Hikari, which has the same tune but completely different lyrics and a completely different meaning. I'm not familiar with the other songs but i'd assume they were similar cases. In particular I can't imagine a song about Jesus in a movie like this. Japan has a tiny Christian population. It's probably a local song with a similar tune.
I wish I could have replied to this thread on IMDb, as now none of these people will see my response. Oh well.