‘Sound of Falling’ Review: A Haunting Meditation on Womanhood and Rural Strife That Heralds the Arrival of a Bold New Talent

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You don’t often come across a film that feels completely unique, challenging your understanding of what cinema can achieve. However, German director Mascha Schilinski’s daring second work, titled “Sound of Falling” or “In Die Sonne Schauen“, manages to do just that. It’s a captivating narrative where the lives of four girls are interwoven into a single, extended cinematic symphony, seamlessly shifting between different eras without any notice, creating a vivid depiction of adolescence and rural struggles throughout history.

Reminds one of Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” but with influences from Jane Campion and Michael Haneke. It oscillates between transient coming-of-age experiences and stark, unsettling scenes depicting human brutality. Clocking in at 2.5 hours, “Sound of Falling” is an unquestionably artful cinematic experience, most likely to captivate those who appreciate patience. The film offers a refreshing take on cinema, demonstrating its capacity for continuous reinvention, provided there are directors like Schilinski with the audacity to experiment.

Working alongside Louise Peter, the movie’s unique narrative weaves together four interconnected tales using various scenes or brief moments (diverse cameras are both shown and employed throughout the film). The storyline traverses a broad timeline from the early 20th century right up to the present day. This captivating tale unfolds primarily within a vast farmhouse, which is handed down through generations, occasionally wandering through adjacent fields or delving into a scenic river that divides East and West Germany.

Characters enter and exit across the years, with cinematographer Fabian Gamper (using a square 1:1.33 format) stealthily moving about the house like a spirit, covertly capturing instances as they unfold, highlighting periods of agony and fleeting bouts of humor. Scenes transform into recollections within other scenes, being passed on from the living to the deceased and then back, skillfully edited by Evelyn Rack so that they grow more poignant with the passage of time.

Initially, the impact may leave you feeling a bit off-balance, but “Sound of Falling” is a movie that gradually builds its strength throughout its course. As we journey with the quartet of characters – Alma (Hanna Heckt) from the turn of the last century, Erika (Lea Drinda) post World War II, Angelika (Lena Urzendowsky) in 1980s East Germany, and Lenka (Laeni Geiseler) in the present – it’s not that they are all blood-related, but rather they share a shared history that looms over the house, acting as both a source of blessing and a burden.

In the area where their farm lies, there’s a history of profound, lasting trauma that lingers. Yet amidst this, there’s also beauty and personal growth. Schilinski seems to have crafted four coming-of-age stories concurrently, all centered around young women discovering both the opportunities and the boundaries life presents for them.

The sequences featuring Alma and Erika, who hail from realms ruled by somber patriarchies and marred by adversity, evoke the atmosphere of period horror films.

Alma, with her pale, fair hair, is consumed by the memory of her deceased sibling, whose portrait sits on a mantlepiece that honors family members who have passed away. In the image, the sister’s body is positioned casually on a sofa, surrounded by some of her cherished playthings – a common style in post-mortem photography during that era. Years later, Erika finds herself drawn to her Uncle Fritz (played by Martin Rother), who is bedridden due to his amputation and suffering from pain in his bedroom. Later on, we discover the traumatic incident that led to his leg amputation, as a shocking event of parental cruelty unfolds.

Initially, the tales of Angelika and Lenka appear to be more delightful, showcasing how life in their farming village became somewhat less challenging as time passed. However, this doesn’t imply that these girls don’t have their own personal struggles. For instance, Angelika grapples with her emerging sexuality and troubling connection with her uncle (Konstantin Lindhorst), while Lenka deals with the sadness of her friendship with a neighboring girl (Zoë Baier) who is grieving the loss of her mother.

Schilinski skillfully employs striking visual motifs to bind the characters across different time periods. They perform similar actions, experience identical sights – numerous sequences are filmed from their perspectives, either through windows, doorways or peepholes – and occasionally enact parallel narratives, as if they bear the scars and epiphanies of past events. The film, with its expansive canvas and intricately detailed rural settings, carries the gravitas of a substantial 19th-century agricultural novel. Yet, it is narrated in the purest form of stream-of-consciousness narrative, as if Virginia Woolf had chosen to reimagine a Thomas Hardy novel.

As a captivated viewer, I found this intriguing production, “Sound of Falling” (originally titled “Looking into the Sun”), to be an unconventional storytelling experience. Instead of following a traditional plotline or merging multiple storylines smoothly, it presents a mosaic of fleeting sensations, visuals, feelings, and auditory cues that coalesce over time into a more comprehensive narrative.

The image portrays a continuous journey of young women across various eras, confronting relentless challenges such as rape, loss of loved ones, forced sterilization, incest, rural bondage, and prostitution. However, Schilinski doesn’t shy away from showcasing their hardships or the moments of happiness and awe they encounter. These courageous girls embody the resilience of their ancestors, advancing through time with scars but also triumphs.

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2025-05-14 18:55