How do you solve a problem - The Sound of Music (1965)

Maria: I can't seem to stop singing wherever I am. And what's worse, I can't seem to stop saying things - anything and everything I think and feel.
Mother Abbess: Some people would call that honesty.
Maria: Oh, but it's terrible, Reverend Mother. 



The Sound of Music is about as classic as movies come. I haven't shown much love to musicals in this blog thus far, so I decided that my movie from the 1960s must be one of the greatest musicals of all times. 


Featuring Julie Andrews, one of my favorite female voices, The Sound of Music is about finding the joy of music in your heart, how a family uses music in order to find love.  From the first moment of the movie, we are bombarded with wonderful sounds, happy tones and beautiful landscapes.  Unfortunately, the tone shifts to one of darkness as Austria closes in on Nazi occupation, while the Von Trapps work towards building their family.


I suppose The Sound of Music qualifies as a personal journey. Our protagonist, Maria, begins in a convent, a place of restriction, solitude, and strictness.

But...she's kind of going against the norm. Dancing in the hillside. Being late for meals. Not praying at the proper times. You know, all those important nun-things.

Our snippet today is taken from the beginning of the movie, when Maria meets with the Reverend Mother to decide whether or not to continue at the convent. Deciding to go on a new path and become a governess to the Von Trapp family, Maria takes a chance that will ultimately alter her life forever: she falls in love.


Maria is kind of awkward. She's funny. She says the wrong things at the wrong times. She's clumsy. But I love her. She's just so real. And maybe that's why she never fit into the convent.


And I adore this dialogue between her and the Reverend Mother. Don't you just sometimes feel like you can't stop talking about something. You can't stop smiling. You can't stop singing or humming. Maria is so happy, and I think everyone has experienced that time in their lives where they've felt the same way.


Things happen in our lives that make us feel this way. The beginning of a new friendship or relationship. Birthdays. Good grades. Fun nights. Whatever it is, and it can be almost anything, it makes us radiate joy.


However, something more serious can be gleaned from this quote. It lies in Reverend Mother's retort: "Some people would call that honesty."  We often filter what we say for fear that others may judge us or persecute us because of our opinions. But when we do have the courage to say things, which is so important, we are honest and real in a way that we wouldn't be otherwise.  


Maybe if we all sat down and just said what we feel and think, we'd save each other a lot of time and effort trying to figure each other out. I mean, come on, we all have tried to analyze one look, one word, one sentence, whatever, to try and figure out what someone meant. We constantly take things the wrong way, especially with the emotionless internet jargon.  


Maria has got something going for her...she's real. Sure she sings on hilltops and dances in the streets. But at least she brings a sense of reality into a family that has forgotten that life can be joyful, despite the past.