The Cascade pages are alive with the sound of music, with songs they have sung for 60 years. The Cascade fills my heart with the sound of music; my heart wants to sing this 700-word article on how great this movie is.
2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the iconic film The Sound of Music (1965), sparking worldwide celebrations and the announcement of its cinematic return, which had me scrambling to get tickets. As a musical fan, come hell or high water, I wasn’t missing the chance to see this remastered 4k cinematic masterpiece on the big screen.
If you say this is a movie about Maria, a rebellious novice (Julie Andrews) sent to work as a governess of seven children, who falls in love with Georg, a retired sea captain (Christopher Plummer), you’d be right. But also, wrong. While Maria’s calling to find where she belongs kickstarts the story, the first act is really an exploration of grief and how music gently mends the wounds of a fractured family.
As relationships heal and progress, so does the looming rise of Nazism that threatens to overcome the narrative. Act two shows our protagonists finally getting together, and the adorable von Trapp family singers deal with the Anschluss (annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany).
Although the real von Trapp family did not climb mountains to escape the Nazis, the captain did refuse to join Hitler’s navy and even turned down an invitation to sing at his birthday party. Eventually, they fled to the United States, where they toured and ultimately stayed.
There’s much controversy surrounding the real Maria von Trapp. Her strict and often harsh parenting style was far from the cheerful governess we see in The Sound of Music. Alas, how do you solve a problem like Maria? Raised under rigid discipline herself, Maria was very much a product of her time — when physical punishment was common and rarely questioned. Still, this has made some of those who are privy to the information hesitant to celebrate her character. It raises a broader question of ‘how much should the truth behind a story shape our perception of the story itself?’ Should it shape it at all? Even so, while the reality may be darker, the story and characters we got still carry light that is worth holding onto.
The cast is pure perfection, with Plummer expertly tearing down the Nazi flag and ripping it in half in a no-nonsense fashion, and with — the absolute queen — Andrews, who soars beyond every musical note thrown at her.
This was my feel-better film growing up. Even though it was all in English and I understood none of the words, there was just something wonderful and magical about feeling a story rather than simply knowing what happens. Rewatching it as I grew older, with a deeper understanding of its layers, made me fall in love with it all over again.
No words can express the utter heartbreak I felt watching Georg sing “Edelweiss” at the Salzburg Festival, and finally understanding why his voice trembles and breaks mid-song. It’s not just a performance — it’s a farewell. To Austria. To freedom. To a world that’s disappearing. All seems lost until Maria, the children, and even the audience join in song, helping him finish the tune. There’s strength in that unity. The Edelweiss flower, known for surviving harsh winters, acts as a metaphor for this resistance and resilience in the darkest of times.
There are countless reasons why, even six decades later, this movie remains a beloved classic that goes beyond its flawless photography and sound design. I’d argue its legacy endures in its quiet, yet powerful statement on political apathy in the face of tyranny.
“You know I have no political convictions. Can I help it if other people do?” says Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn), defending his neutrality to von Trapp, who answers: “Oh yes, you can help it. You must help it.”
It’s baffling to think that despite several inaccuracies, a movie can hold up and even become extremely relevant after so long. If only its popularity in the United States prevented them from repeating those same fascist patterns…
So, what is the sound of music?
To me, it’s hope. And this movie celebrates it in a way that has become a rare commodity nowadays — but what else is there left to do?
