A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (soundtrack)

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A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedSeptember 19, 2025
Recorded2025
Genre Film score
Length59:32
Label Milan
Producer Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi chronology
The Boy and the Heron
(2023)
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
(2025)

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2025 film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey directed by Kogonada and starring Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The film's soundtrack featured original score by Joe Hisaishi and songs performed by Laufey and Mitski. The album was released through Milan Records on September 19, 2025.

Contents

Development

Joe Hisaishi was announced as the film composer in June 2025. [1] [2] Kogonada recalled that his representative reached out to him and was stunned on their decision to involve Hisaishi as the composer, immediately agreeing, calling it as a collaboration he would never forget. [3] While working on the score, he did not give many notes to Hisaishi, but the latter provided a layer which he felt unexpected. [3] Kogonada noted that any other composer in that space would provide music that played with the emotional beats, but Hisaishi provided a different space where the sense of romance which layered underneath provided a rhythm to the film. [4]

The film also featured four songs performed by Laufey and Mitski, with two of them being cover versions of "Winter Wonderland" and Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door". [5] Laufey, on her involvement, stated that she instantly connected on Kogonada's way of escapism "referencing themes of the past while keeping it modern" and the plot mirrored her album A Matter of Time (2025) which explored how time impacts, life, love and experiences while also being deeply tied with her artistry. [5]

Track listing

No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Rain" 1:51
2."I'm Not" 0:47
3."The Point" (Bonus Track) 0:13
4."Sarah and David" 5:10
5."A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey" 1:24
6."The Door" (Bonus Track) 1:27
7."The Lighthouse" 2:28
8."Silent" (Bonus Track) 2:35
9."Memory of Dad" 2:37
10."High School" 1:15
11."Mom Passed Away" 1:33
12."To Her Mother's Side" 3:08
13."Memories of Mother" 2:09
14."The Balloon and the Bear" 1:56
15."Earth Kiss" 1:50
16."Couple Fight" 0:36
17."The Accident" (Bonus Track) 1:26
18."Midnight Walk" 0:38
19."Two Paths" 1:35
20."The Childhood Home" 1:45
21."When I Was Young" 1:54
22."Meet Again" (Bonus Track) 1:07
23."The Risk" Laufey 3:58
24."Winter Wonderland"Laufey2:13
25."But Beautiful"Laufey4:32
26."Let's Dream in the Moonlight" (Take 1)Laufey2:48
27."Let My Love Open the Door" Mitski 2:42
28."The Risk" (Instrumental)Laufey3:58
Total length:59:32

Reception

Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood wrote "the score by ace Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi tries valiantly to catch the mood." [6] Conor O'Donnell of The Film Stage wrote "A few unironic needle drops (again pulling from a mid-aughts playbook) are at odds with the legendary Joe Hisaishi's lovely score, possibly betraying studio notes that don't know what to make of the film's calculus." [7] Iana Murray of Little White Lies wrote "a delicate score from the legendary Joe Hisaishi that's more minimalist than his Studio Ghibli collaborations – but equally as transportive." [8] Hoai Tran-Rui of Inverse called the score "fantastic". [9] Gemma Wilson of The Seattle Times called it "a simple, piano-forward score from Joe Hisaishi, a frequent Studio Ghibli collaborator." [10] Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal called it a "gently appalling musical score". [11] Ty Burr of The Washington Post wrote "The plaintive score is by Studio Ghibli stalwart Joe Hisaishi, his first for a Hollywood film." [12]

Additional music

The following songs are featured in the film, but not included in the soundtrack album: [13]

References

  1. "Joe Hisaishi Scoring Kogonada's 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey'". Film Music Reporter. June 3, 2025. Archived from the original on June 23, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  2. Juvet, Aedan (September 28, 2025). "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Director Found Inspiration from Anime". Bleeding Cool . Archived from the original on September 28, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Bui, Hoai-Tran (September 18, 2025). "How Hayao Miyazaki Inspired The Most Surreal Time-Travel Movie Of The Year". Inverse . Archived from the original on September 22, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  4. Jones, Tamera; Weintraub, Steven (September 20, 2025). "Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie's New Fantasy Film Was Hugely Inspired By This Anime Masterpiece". Collider . Archived from the original on September 24, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Gomez, Dessi (September 4, 2025). "Laufey Contributes Four Songs To Kogonada's 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  6. Hammond, Pete (September 16, 2025). "'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' Review: Margot Robbie And Colin Farrell Struggle To Find Love In Snail-Paced Romantic Drama". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on September 17, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  7. O'Donnell, Conor (September 16, 2025). "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Review: Kogonada Crafts a Lovely Adventure with Trademark Empathy". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on September 29, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  8. Murray, Iana (September 19, 2025). "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey review – Kogonada operates on a grander..." Little White Lies . Archived from the original on September 24, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  9. Tran-Rui, Hoai (September 16, 2025). "'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' Wants To Make You Swoon". Inverse . Archived from the original on September 22, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  10. Wilson, Gemma (September 17, 2025). "'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' straddles precious and profound | Review". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  11. Smith, Kyle (September 18, 2025). "'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' Review: Sentimental Saturation". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on September 19, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  12. Burr, Ty (September 18, 2025). "Review | 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' is big, bold and sappy". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on September 18, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  13. Starkey, Adam (September 20, 2025). "Every song on 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' soundtrack". NME . Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved September 29, 2025.