#1-transition from reality to fantasy

#2-set the time and place

#3-transition between scenes

#4-heighten the drama

#5-tell a story (allude to hidden meaning)

Banjos and woodwinds, strings and voices--all partial components of a vast musical arrangement presented by composer Gabriel Yared in the film Cold Mountain (directed by Anthony Minghella). In a beautiful display of talent that does not shatter scenes or characters, Yared constructs a marriage between music and drama, providing the crucial crutch that aids transition from realism to fantasy. If any universal truth exists between real life theatre and movie theatre, then the truth lies in the capability of encouraging a willful suspension of disbelief. Despite the film's historical precision and obvious emotional flare, its drama could never have conveyed...