My Favourite Thing

"When the dog bites, When the bee stings, When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite things, And then I don't feel so bad." 
There are only a few things in life which help me and Sohini get going when the going gets tough. "The Sound of Music" happens to top that list. So, our first post is about the one movie that has inspired us since childhood and is sure to captivate us for the rest of our lives. 

I find it needless to comment on the wonderful acting by the cast, especially Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker and Charmian Carr. Nor will I keep on praising the songs which we all so frequently hum. Instead I'll be focussing on the various aspects of the movie that appealed to us.

As many of you, who have seen Oscar ceremony of 2015 would know, "The Sound of Music" celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. I often wonder at this question, what has made such an ordinary film, with no action, no revenge, no 'spice' as such, stick with us for 50 years? After all, Judith Crist, in a biting review in the New York Herald Tribune, dismissed the movie as "icky sticky" and designed for "the five to seven set and their mommies"!
The answer is in the question itself. It is the lack of people hitting each other, or heroes riding impossibly fast bikes, that make it anything but an ordinary film. Its simplicity and honesty makes the movie something people can overwhelmingly relate with. Richard Rodgers, the co-composer of the original Broadway musical, had this to say about his marvellous creation:
"No one is comfortable with an excess of hearts and flowers, but there is no valid reason for hiding honest emotion. This has always been a major element in the theatre, and it's my conviction that anyone who can't, on occasion, be sentimental about children, home or nature is sadly maladjusted." 

The film opens with Maria singing "The hills are alive, With the sound of music." A verse that reflects what I said earlier about "The Sound of Music" getting me through depressing times:
"I go to the hills, When my heart is lonely
I know I will hear, What I've heard before
My heart will be blessed, With the sound of music
And I'll sing once more!" 
After the overture, the screen reads "Salzburg, in the last Golden Days of its Thirties". These few words not only establish the time and setting of the film but also gives us a peek into the future. The Anschluss was near.

When an external force threatens to desecrate all that we hold close to our hearts, it becomes essential that we love and love a lot more than usual. Hard times demand strength and love is the only indefinite source for it.

This movie is about unconditional love. The love of a parent. Something no child should ever be deprived of. Loving is easy because it can't be helped. Revealing that you love is much more difficult as it makes you vulnerable. Allowing yourself to become vulnerable, knowing how much it could hurt, requires great strength. Our beloved Captain was brave and strong. But, the death of his first wife had left him scarred more than any battle ever could. He had built up defences to prevent further bruising of his heart. He ran his home like one of his ships and barred music from his house, lest anything should remind him of his loss.  Maria was the key to unleash Georg Von Trapp's love for his children, hidden under the great sorrow for the loss of his first wife and frustrations of the army. The children, on the other hand, yearned to gain their father's attention, even if it meant putting spiders on their former governess's bed.

Last in the long line of Von-Trapp family governesses is our beloved Maria. She is a spontaneous young woman with a heart overflowing with love.  She is so at one with nature that the hills have become her home and the trees, larks and brook, her friends. Nothing describes her better than her own words, 

Maria: You see, the sky was so blue today,  and everything was so green and fragrant, I had to be a part of it. The Untersberg led me higher like it wanted me to go through the clouds

Reverend Mother: Suppose darkness had come and you were lost? 

Maria: Mother, I could never be lost up there. 
That's my mountain. I was brought up on it. 
It was the mountain that led me to you. 
When I was a child, I would come down and climb a tree and look in your garden. I'd see the sisters at work and hear them sing. 

She has an amazing way of making the best out of everything, be it consoling herself during anxiety by saying "Strength doesn't lie in numbers, Strength doesn't lie in wealth...", or cheering up the children during a thunderstorm by reminding them of their favourite things.

Despite her apparent frivolity, she has her own beliefs and opinions from which she would never budge. She staunchly refuses to answer to a whistle, saying that whistles are for cats and dogs, not for children and definitely not for her. Also, she is not afraid to argue fiercely with the Captain about his children. She has the bravery and courage to stick to what she believes is right. The following dialogues bring out this trait of her character.
Captain von Trapp: Fraulein Maria, did I or did I not say that bedtime is to be strictly observed in this household? 
Maria: Yes, well the children were scared of the thunderstorm and... You did, sir.
Captain von Trapp: And do you or do you not have trouble following these simple instructions?
Maria: Only during thunderstorms, sir.
Also this scene where Maria argues with Georg so firmly that he drops down to his humility and refers to Maria as 'Captain'. Unconsciously of course.
Captain von Trapp: I don't care to hear anything further from you about my children.
Maria: I am not finished yet, Captain!
Captain von Trapp: Oh, yes, you are, Captain!
[pauses, then corrects himself] 
Captain von Trapp: Fraulein!
Needless to say, this was one of Julie Andrews' best performances in the movie. 

Despite her spontaneity, Maria is not disrespectful and defends the individualities of others.
Max: He's got to at least *pretend* to work with these people. You must convince him. 

Maria: I can't ask him to be less than (what) he is. 

But the best scene of the movie, is the conversation between Captain Georg Von Trapp and Herr Zeller after the ball dance.
Herr Zeller: Perhaps those who would warn you that the Anschluss is coming - and it is coming, Captain - perhaps they would get further with you by setting their words to music. 
Captain von Trapp: If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section.
Herr Zeller: You flatter me, Captain.
Captain von Trapp: Oh, how clumsy of me - I meant to accuse you. 

This brings me to the next and the core aspect of the film. Patriotism.

Patriotism, as Georg Von Trapp puts it, is "a love we all share."  Rolf aptly described Georg when he called him "so Austrian". Georg identifies himself with his motherland. Each missile that hit Austria was a bullet to the Captain's heart. Georg refused to fight for the Germans with the same bravery that he had fought with for his motherland. A true patriot, Captain Von Trapp is a brave brave man.

Max: You know I have no political convictions. Can I help it if other people do?
Captain von Trapp: Oh yes, you can help it. You must help it. 
And I'm sure "Edelweiss" is one of the most heartrending songs about the beauty of patriotism. 

The film also subtly touches the very confusing time in an individual's life- adolescence. I really liked the fact that Liesl was treated as a separate individual who had her own life to live and own struggles to endure, just like every teenager struggling for their identity. 
Leisl was a teenager with no one to guide her through this tough phase of life. Her own mother had passed away and her father was too busy disciplining her. In a way, that made her tough and hence, she said, "I am sixteen and I don't need a governess." Also, when the Captain announced that he would be leaving for Vienna the next morning, she could not care less, even though her siblings reacted quite loudly.
But then came Maria, who did not tell on her the night she sneaked into Maria's room through a window. She even protected her when her father asked where she had gone after dinner. Leisl realised that she had finally found a friend- someone she could trust with her teenage burdens, and someone who could give her advises like this- 
Leisl: Mother, what to do when you think you love someone? I mean, when you stop loving someone? Or he stops loving you?
Maria: Well, you cry a little, and wait for the sun to come up. It always does!
Leisl: There are so many things I think I should know, but I don't! I really don't!

Perhaps the greatest aspect of this film lies in the title itself. It is a wonderful potrayal of music as a binding force and as a weapon. It was music which ultimately led Georg Von Trapp to love his children, and it was music which incited the audience of the auditorium against German rule in Austria during the escape of the family. Maria and Georg fell in love through music. Maria brought music back into the house and with the sound of music, the Von Trapp family was redeemed.

In short, "The Sound of Music" is a film that touches our hearts everyday. Watch it, if only for a lesson in music ("Do Re Mi"), or the marvellous depiction of Austria's scenery. 

Written by Sayak Mitra, with loads and loads of help from Sohini Marik.