A Turkish short 30-minute documentary that tells the story of two women still struggling with their lives after the massive earthquake that struck Turkey on the 17th August 1999, 45 Saniye (45 Seconds) follows the women who have one thing in common: they lost children that survived the initial natural disaster. Director Berk Erözer focuses on the women’s torment they still experience today with not knowing the fate of their children after the earthquake. Turkish composer Emre Zeytinci’s sparing score ably captures the anguish and heartbreak of the women as we get a glimpse of how events of 20 years ago still dominate their lives.
Zeytinci’s 20-minute score is based around a single theme, a descending musical idea that is played predominantly by piano and accompanied by solo or grouped strings. “Can’t Hear Your Voice” provides us with a fuller statement of the theme (on solo piano) after a hesitant opening track (“45”). “Can’t Hear Your Voice” summarises how the composer maintains interest when using a single thematic idea: embellishing the base theme with more intricate piano passages, adding strings as a counterpoint and varying the delicacy and forcefulness of the playing. Throughout the score there is a constant interplay between piano and strings as the theme is passed back and forth between them, each instrument taking turns maintaining the score’s tone. This interplay is best heard in the musical centre of the score, “03:02” (the time on the 17th August that the earthquake hit). Solo strings are particularly powerful here and convey the emotional trauma of the women with clarity. With the ubiquitous presence of the main theme, when the theme appears to crumble musically in “Rising” it is quite a startling effect.
45 Saniye – featuring stark interviews with the women that are interspersed with news footage of the devastation taken and broadcast at the time – limits the opportunity for the composer in terms of variety or lightness in the music. However, Zeytinci’s score captures the essence of what hell the two women have experienced. And continue to experience. Using a single musical idea throughout helps the score to become a greater part of the story, part of the women’s experience and even, perhaps, becoming a representation of the emotional anguish of the women. The composer has managed to echo the film’s emotional subject matter and, although it may sound repetitive as a stand-alone listen, the score is a worthy representation of the film.
Rating: ***
- 45 (0:45)
- Can’t Here Your Voice (3:40)
- Eternal Wish (2:35)
- Lost Ones of Disaster (2:29)
- Rising (2:09)
- 03:02 (3:02)
- We All Loved (2:16)
- Eternal Wish (Extended) (3:19)
Running Time: 20:15
Records DK (2020)
Reel Music 
What sounds like something so simple is quite complex as the theme shifts between the strings and piano, each complementing one another. The strings creating harmony and counterpoint within themselves and the piano creating its own voice. As is the case many times the first listen is not what you should base your feelings on. For me, it was the fourth when I fully understood the composer as best I could. I didn’t see the film only listened to music.
Thanks Tom for your thoughts. If you are interested to see how the music works in the film here’s a link to it – https://youtu.be/YSeacascaUs
The 30-minute film is in Turkish so you can’t understand what is being said. But the images and particularly the music gives a sense of how the women feel.