• News

• All

Jun 11, 2015 By Austin Trunick China Forbes

Maya Forbes’ new film, Infinitely Polar Bear, centers on a manic-depressive father (Mark Ruffalo) who tries to win back his wife (Zoe Saldana) by proving he can be a responsible father figure to their two young daughters. The subject matter was personal for the filmmaker: she cites her father’s manic breakdowns and her parents’ separation as inspiration for the film. “My sister and I were sad and furious and ashamed of the way we lived,” the director says. “And yet, in the end, it worked. We became our own version of a family.”

For help with the soundtrack, she turned to an artist who understood exactly where she was coming from: her younger sister, China Forbes, solo artist and frontperson of the band Pink Martini. The resulting song was “The Northern Line,” which you can stream below:

China Forbes told us about writing the song:

“I borrowed my son’s ukulele and packed it in my suitcase and discovered it to be my new favorite writing tool. I began writing “The Northern Line” in London and fine-tuned it on the bus during a spring tour of Europe which coincided with the filming of Infinitely Polar Bear. I missed the entire 5 week shoot which was devastating but writing this song was a way for me to still be involved. I felt so happy that I wrote lyrics that really capture what mania is like and what my father was like and what our family is like. My big sister, Maya Forbes, has always been my most honest critic and best editor. She of course did some whittling of the song and got it to its current compact form.”

Lakeshore Records will release the Infinitely Polar Bear soundtrack digitally on June 16, and on CD June 30. The full track list (which includes songs by George Harrison, Swamp Dogg, and Elvis Perkins in Dearland, as well as Theodore Shapiro’s score) can be found below.

Sony Pictures Classics will release Infinitely Polar Bear in theaters on June 19.

Track Listing:

01. Run Of The Mill - George Harrison
02. The Oogum Boogum Song - Brenton Wood
03. A Fool In Love - Ike & Tina Turner
04. Your Man - Jerry ‘Swamp Dogg’ Williams
05. Doomsday - Elvis Perkins in Dearland
06. The Northern Line - China Forbes
07. Your Long Journey - The Doc Watson Family
08. Down By The Riverside - Snooks Eaglin
09. Jonah, Come Out The Wilderness - Roaring Lion with Cyril Monrose String Orchestra
10. Amen - The Brentford Choir
11. Kung-Fu Picnic – Theodore Shapiro
12. Hole In The Floor – Theodore Shapiro
13. Depressed – Theodore Shapiro
14. The Pick-Up Game – Theodore Shapiro

(www.chinaforbes.com)

(www.lakeshore-records.com/infinitelypolarbear)

(sonyclassics.com/infinitelypolarbear)