The Sound of Music is a film that takes place in 1938,  just before World War II began. Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews star in the musical. The Sound of Music is a sweet and heartwarming film that is based on a true story of the Von Trapp family. The story begins with Maria, a young Austrian woman who is a nun. She is not the best nun as she has a playful spirit and has a hard time following the rules of the Abbey. After one mishap where she misses prayers because she is walking out into the hills, she is told that she is being assigned as a governess to Captain Von Trapp, a widower, who has seven children. Maria is apprehensive about her assignment but has no choice but to go. She enters a family where the father is very strict and he is raising the children as if they are in the military. Maria sees that the children need both love and fun in their life. Maria also believes that the children should experience music; she teaches them to sing. So the adventure begins.

 

    The movie is set at a scary time in history. Hitler is invading many European countries and Austria is being targeted as the next place where the Nazis take over. Captain Von Trapp vehemently opposes the Nazis. Because he is military captain, he is being recruited by the Nazis. Captain Von Trapp realizes that the only way to escape the Nazis is for him and his family to leave Austria. While Captain Von Trapp becomes more concerned about the fate of Austria, the relationships between Maria and the the children, and Captain Von Trapp and Maria are deepening.

 

    The most impressive features of this film are the scenery and the music. A scene that stood out to me was the opening. Maria expresses her love of the mountains of Austria and the scenery is breathtaking. The music works with the scenery in the majority of the movie by zooming into the main character in the opening scene. That stood out because the music was progressively getting louder as the camera zooms in on the character. Another scene that I enjoyed was the scene where the children and Maria were biking along the Salzach river. While there are beautiful scenes to represent the day, there are also some dark scenes at night which represents the fear of the Nazis taking over Austria. For example, in their last performance in “So Long Farewell”, they are performing in a very dark arena. The viewer feels nervous and that there is something scary on the horizon. The most memorable scene is the ending; it balances out the film as Maria starts the movie by singing about her love in the mountains and in the end she and the Von Trapp family -- now her family that she loves -- are walking through the mountains together presumably to a safe place, away from the grips of the war. I also enjoyed watching how the family and Captain Von Trapp changed during the movie because of Maria’s vibrant and loving personality. This creates harmony which makes for a cohesive family. Overall, the film has strong emotion which is prevalent and that the characters seem to make the film more exciting and enjoyable to watch.

 

    It was super hard to spot a weakness in this film since it was so well made. However, the movie seemed a little long and there may have been a way the story could have been a little shorter. I thought that there were a lot more closing scenes rather than scenes that relate to the climax. The climax and closing scenes need to be equal. Also, as much as I loved the opening scene, I thought that a shorter song would have told the story more. A concise story in the beginning doesn’t go into the specifics and that it also sets up the audience for excitement.

 

    I would recommend this film to people because it not only stands out in the scenery, but it also stands out in the way the film is presented. There is a story being told and it flows nicely with the way the film is moving. For example, it’s great how the cut from the opening scene to Captain Trapp’s family flows. It seems like Maria is first introduced and then the rest of the main characters are introduced. That is how most movies start off. I think that many viewers would enjoy the beauty of the colors and the acting abilities of many of the actors. The actors make the scene stand out more in the way they present themselves in front of the camera. The music is catchy, fun and beautiful. I love heartwarming drama movies and think that other people who like movies with a great story in beautiful scenery will like The Sound of Music.