Life is full of pleasant surprises: be it finding money in the pocket of jeans you haven’t worn in months, going past channel 99 and realizing you have the Biography Channel or watching a movie that you think you are absolutely going to hate and loving it.
I don’t like musicals, I sure as hell don’t like nuns and thanks to the Osmonds I was pretty sure I didn’t like singing families either, but “The Sound of Music” is so beautifully filmed and paced so much better than the other musicals on this list that I can’t help but rave about it.
The opening aerial shots of the Austrian Alps set the tone for the entire film; no expense is spared in making sure every single shot is high quality. The scenery levels out on a hilltop and zeroes in on Maria (Julie Andrews) spinning and singing. I know that this scene had to have been done with a helicopter but the precision and tightness they were able to get in this shot is remarkable. The lyrics to “The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music” talk about not only Maria’s love for music as well as her boredom with life at the nunnery. The feeling is mutual, as the next scene focuses on the older nuns complaining (in song) about how bad of a fit Maria is for the life of a nun (“How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?”)
The compromise is to send Maria away to be a nanny for Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) a widowed Naval officer with seven children. When Maria arrives at the Captain’s house it is clear that he takes the military thing way too seriously. He is curt and condescending in his addressing of others and marches the children out in formation. Everything about the children’s existence is regimented and harsh and it is clear that Maria is appalled by this and she clashes with Captain Von Trapp over summoning the children with whistles. Though the children are described as incorrigible and difficult off camera, it’s obvious that they are just normal children who happen to have an asshole for a father. This point is also reinforced by the fact that the Von Trapp’s are the only characters introduced up to that point who don’t burst into song- suggesting an absence of emotional connection in the home.
Two things become evident based on Maria’s interaction with the children; 1) The one they are going to focus the most time on is the oldest, Liesl, and particularly her relationship with a telegram deliver boy Rolfe and 2) Maria is going to be as defiant in raising the Von Trapp children as she was in the nunnery.
The Rolfe/Liesl storyline takes shape largely in the Von Trapp gazebo, as the two have to keep their courtship secret. The scene in this particular setting foreshadows significant events that occur later in the film; specifically the gazebo being a place where people freely express their emotions and Rolfe’s fear of being more direct in his feelings for Liesl indicating a far greater cowardice that will eventually come to light.
As for the children and Maria, she openly defies the Captain’s orders and takes the children out to play, ditches their matching uniforms for bright and colorful outfits, representing Maria reintegrating joy and light into the children’s lives since the passing of their mother. During one of their excursions Maria teaches the kids how to sing, thus bringing music back into their lives, which is the most strictly forbidden of all the Captain’s conditions because it reminds him of his wife. Maria and Captain Von Trapp engage in a volatile argument resulting in him dismissing her. The ridiculously touching scene that ensues is overly corny but also a great testament to Christopher Plummer’s acting ability. He intends to confront the children but, upon hearing them singing finds himself overcome with emotion and leads them in a rendition of the unofficial Austrian National Anthem “Edelwiess.”
A short time later, the Von Trapps host a party for many Austrian dignitaries; the amazing contrast in the children’s lives is demonstrated when they greet the guests in song, a stark difference to their initial regimented and harsh introduction by the Captain earlier in the film. Though there are many small conflicts in the first half of “The Sound of Music” (Maria vs. Captain Von Trapp, the nuns and Maria, Captain Von Trapp’s fiancé Elsa’s jealousy of Maria) the greater brewing conflict reveals itself when one of the partygoers questions Captain Von Trapp’s defiant flying of the Austrian flag in spite of the fact that they have just been annexed by Nazi Germany.
“To refuse them would be fatal for all of us. And joining them would be unthinkable.” (Captain Von Trapp. “The Sound of Music”)
The gazebo is reintroduced in a strikingly gorgeous scene as Maria and Captain Von Trapp confess their love for each other with a sunset in the background. The light is enhanced by the reflection of the stained glass in the gazebo and the duet of “Something Good” between the two is so incredible you almost completely forget that Captain Von Trapp was supposedly engaged shortly before and that Maria is like, the worst nun ever.
Perhaps out of happiness to be rid of her but more likely because they have grown to love her, just know she’s not a good fit for the Abbey, the nuns happily help Maria prepare for her wedding to Captain Von Trapp, finally indicating a mutual appreciation for each other. Upon returning from their honeymoon the Von Trapps learn that the Nazis have ordered the Captain into their Navy. Not only does he defiantly refuse, he removes the Nazi flag that has been hung outside the family home and symbolically destroys it. To add to the growing level of fear the Austrians have of the Nazis, the children have a discussion where one of the children observes that things have been tense ever since the “red flags with the black spiders” started sprouting up.
Knowing they are now essentially fugitives, the family hatches a plan to escape Austria. They participate in a Bavarian festival talent show under the understanding that Captain Von Trapp will report for duty immediately after. As the results of the contest are read the Von Trapps sneak off to the Abbey, where the nuns help them hide from the Nazis. All the previous scenes here show the open, airiness of the structure with light billowing in; now the same exact building resembles a dungeon- illustrating how important lighting and atmosphere are to the audience’s perception of a movie. An eerily effective red searchlight also adds a frightening level of intensity to this segment- as red naturally implies terror and evil.
The climactic evasion ends with the revelation that Rolfe has joined the Nazi party, and thus confirmed his lack of courage as is displayed earlier by his trepidation to openly declare his feeling for Liesl or be open about their secret love. Also, his final betrayal of the Von Trapps indicates how truly unhelpable and spineless he is. Fortunately, with the help of the sisters of the Abbey who have disabled the Nazi vehicles, the family is able to make their escape.
The final shot of the family making their way to freedom via the same sweeping Alps we saw in the beginning of the film implies a wide-openness but still a turbulent journey ahead.
There are two things about this film that resonate with me above all else. The first is the excellent depiction of a strong female lead Julie Andrews provides as Maria. Not just her free-spirited, anti-authoritarian nature, but her bold willingness to butt heads with Captain Von Trapp. Unlike Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” Maria is not willing to be used, degraded or humiliated, even to the point of refusing to respond to the Captain’s whistle-summoning method.
The second is the frightening depiction of the Nazis without being over the top. What any movie that uses Nazis as antagonists risks is either simply relying on the known evil of Nazism to establish their position as “the bad guys” without exploring the classification any deeper or by downplaying their savagery by not taking their deeds seriously enough. Many examples exist of simply trying to depict Nazis as bumbling oafs and generally inept. While this is very tempting to do it also sort of makes a mockery of the horrific things they were doing. “The Sound of Music” is so great at implying their evil without overly editorializing or making a harmless, corny caricature. This film finds the perfect balance and maintains an excellent “good vs. evil” struggle without having to break it’s naturally excellent flow or insult the viewer’s intelligence.
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