Can't You Hear the Sound of Music

The Sound of Music, the screenplay written Ernest Lehman George Hurdalek, is told form Governess Maria’s point of view (although, not a governess in real life). Lehman and Hurdalek took inspiration from a german play that was based off a book by-- later known as-- Maria Augusta Trapp that was originally called Story of the Trapp Family Singers. So, that was is a historical accuracy. Another accuracy appears in the location and customizing. The real life event and movie both take place in Austria between the world wars. However, the customs in this movie are of the time period. A person can see this by looking at another film Julie Andrews finished filming right before join the Sound of Music set: Mary Poppins, which was written in the 1930’s. In both these movies, Andrews carriers a different bag; however, they share similar qualities. The hats (or headdresses?) that appear throughout the film also resemble the time period and area the movie was set in. The girls also wore nightgowns to bed, which a person does not see a lot of these days.

On the other hand, this is a movie and not everything is historically accurate. For one, the most of the information about the children is wrong. The children’s names are changed and so are their ages. There is also ten children, not just seven. Maria came to the house as a tutor, not a governess. However, she was still very religious. One question: why did the director decide to add a whistle? Was that his way portraying the father as strict? Which, according to one of his son’s Captain Von Trapp was not cold but a warm kind-hearted soul. Another inaccuracy is the fact the Maria and Captain had been married for around ten years before they left Austria.

The Sound of Music is such a unique film with its use of cinematic devices. Throughout the entire film, there are wide shots. These both set the scene and show the beauty of Austria. A person can also see a progression of feelings throughout the film by looking at the outfits.  In the very beginning, Maria is wearing blue. This is a color that means relaxation and tranquility. When she leaves the abbey, Maria is wearing very neutral colors. Towards the middle, both her and the children start wearing warmer and happier colors. There are also key moments in the film that are silent. One example that stands out is during the song “How do you solve a problem like Maria.” When Maria shows up, there is only her footsteps. There is only nat noise of footstep, no background orchestra or birds chirping.  This identifies the different emotions throughout this scene.

In video class, I learn about the different elements that go into making a film. One of which is called that “B-Story”.This is part of the plot that is second to what the main plot is- Maria’s interaction with the Von Trapp family. While that Sound of Music does not have any political undertones, the relationships Captain has with others because politics is the “B-Story”. The idea of the Messenger Boy, in the beginning, is to keep that audience and family informed about what is going on outside their house. In the beginning, he hints that people want to be apart of Germany. Later on, the Messenger Boy says “heil Hitler”. Controversy occurs about the Austrian flag flying in two different time during the film. Once during the party where Captain got in a verbal fight with a high ranking officer.

Of course, this is only one family’s story, but it does an excellent job portraying the time period. This film continued to develop the universal ideas of love, family, and betrayal. When the children are “learning to sing”, they travel around the city. This is where a person learns much about the Austrian culture. Their outfits really showed what people during this time period in Austria were wearing. The activities the of children included biking, canoeing, and climbing trees.