An article I wrote for Hans India - a reputed daily in Telangana.
Unlike other big screen movies
which generally hold the characteristic of gradually fading away with the time,
‘The Sound of Music’ chimes like a gentle bell ringing in pleasant memories of
yesteryears. Today, after all these years, it still stands as a timeless classic.
It has an unassuming plot that
gently tapers down to a musical windfall, surprisingly culminating in an exhilarating
escapade. But, how does this seemingly enrapturing movie unravel?! The plot opens with Maria (Julie Andrews) an
effervescent nun, melodiously rendering ‘The
Hills Are Alive’ in the vast expanse of mountains of greenery. The nuns at monastery, guessing she’s
going to be late again for the nth time,
find humor in Maria’s childish actions as they musically ponder ‘How to
solve the problem of Maria’. The song is a powerful and hilarious song that in
short summaries Maria’s personality.
It’s mother Abbess who asks Maria
to find her true calling before she contemplates of becoming a full-time nun. Subsequently,
she is assigned the task of a governess for Captain George Von Trapp’s children
(Christopher Plummer). Not the one who’s afraid of facing new challenges, Maria
comes singing ‘I Have Confidence’
and dancing into the lives of the Von Trapp’s family members.
The Captain’s seven children, who
are predominantly notorious for their mischief and for making many a governess
run for her life, initial weave every conceivable plan to rid her off the
palatial villa. But their wicked schemes fall to ground as Maria proves to be a
tough yet gentle governess who warms her way into the children’s hearts. Music
to a great extent proves to be a potent and binding factor.
The Captain’s eldest daughter
falls in love with the mail delivery boy. That’s when the euphonious number ‘Sixteen Going On Seventeen’ takes
place. After a brief meeting with the boy, she climbs through window into the
villa only to meet Maria, who questions her whereabouts of the evening, but
promises to keep her secrets provided she discloses everything to her as a
child would in her mother.
The enchanting number ‘My Favourite Things’ is sung soon after
terrifying thunder and lightning strike fear in the children’s hearts on a
rainy night and they all come scurrying into Maria’s room. The song is the
starting of a beautiful relationship. Maria starts music lessons to these
children, introducing the song ‘Do Re Mi’
.The children take to singing as fish to water.
When the Captain returns from
Vienna, bringing his fiancée Baroness
Elsa Schraeder, a wealthy socialite and a common friend Max Detweiler, he
finds his children inappropriately dressed and their behavior like that of
hooligans, he reprimands Maria and orders her to leave the place.
However, on hearing beautiful music,
that emerges from the house, the captain rushes in to discover his children
singing for the Baroness. He joins them in singing after many years. Knowing
who’s truly behind this, he requests Maria to stay back. Later, Maria and children
put on a Marionette show, which sees them delighting the Captain, Baroness and
Max with a peculiar but haunting melody ‘The
Lonely Goatherd’. When Max suggests that Captain’s children enroll in
Salzburg Festival, the Captain out rightly denies it saying his children won’t
sing in public. But promises to organize a grand party at the villa, as the
party at the villa almost concludes, the children sing the melodious number ‘So Long, Farewell’
At the behest of Maria, the
captain sings ‘Edelweiss’. Baroness senses
a rising affection between the two. Later she suggests Maria that she return to
the abbey. When Maria leaves the villa, the children sorely miss her. At the
Abbey, Mother Abbess urges Maria to face life instead of running away from it.
Maria returns only to discover that Captain is marrying the Baroness. But she
promises to remain at the villa until a new governess is found.
But the quick succession of
events see Captain professing his love for Maria and getting married to her. While
the couple are away honeymooning, Max enrolls the children in the Salzburg
Festival.
When the Captain finds out that
Austria is annexed into the Third Reich in the Anschluss, the couple return
home. On his arrival, he finds a Nazi flag boldly hanging atop his front door. Merely
after angrily ripping it apart, he receives a telegram ordering him to report
to German Naval Headquarters to accept an assignment with the German Navy. A
man strongly opposed to Nazi regimen, the captain along with his family plans
to leave Austria immediately. At night,
when the family is making good their escape, they are suddenly stopped by
German soldiers. When questioned, the Captain explains he and his children are
going to the Salzburg Festival to participate in the competition. The German
soldiers insist on escorting the family to the festival and after which to escort
the Captain to his new place of assignment with the German Navy.
At the Salzburg Festival, after
their final performance, the Von Trapp family puts on a disappearing act and
takes shelter in the nearby abbey. Mother Abbess aids them by hiding them.
However, when the soldiers search the Abbey, they find that the family has
escaped in the caretaker’s car. The German soldiers’ cars won’t start as they
have been tampered with. Later, two nuns confess of removing certain ‘engine
parts’ to Mother Abbess. Meanwhile, the Von Trapp family arrives at the border the
following morning. From where the family crosses over the mountains on foot to
Switzerland.
‘The Sound of Music’ received
appreciation in the form of Academy Awards as well as Golden Globe Awards apart
from many other awards. This delightful movie even after completion of 50 years
still comes across as a breath of fresh air. The plot, the actors and actresses,
the scenic locations…never fail to regale the audiences. The anniversary is the
right occasion to revisit this classic musical and relive the memorable scenes.
For quick review of the e-paper follow the link below...
No comments:
Post a Comment