As my vacation's end draws near, I am soaking up the time with my children. Sometimes, that involves watching videos with them. Other times, it involves them watching videos while I nap :). One of the perennial favorites for Corrie while we are on vacation (and any other time for that matter) is this one. It is a classic, and it has a lot to offer. I suppose many might find it overly sentimental or corny, but it does have a bit of an edge to it. This edge is best captured by the nuns gutting the engine of the Nazis' car near the end of the movie. One morning on our vacation, I lied in bed with my 9 year old daughter Corrie, and asked her about this classic movie:
Joel: "We are in the bedroom at Grandma and Papa's house, and I am going to ask Corrie about 'The Sound of Music.' So…who is your favorite character in the movie?"
Corrie: "My favorite character is Maria."
Joel: "I'm not surprised…why is that?"
Corrie: "Because she is adventurous and teaches the Von Trapp children how to sing."
Joel: "What else do you really like about this movie?"
Corrie: "I like how the Von Trapp children sing 'Goodnight', near the end of the movie and I like when the children sing for the Baroness."
Joel: "Now, do you know anything about where the movie was shot…do you know what that means?"
Corrie: "No."
Joel: "That means where did they actually go to make large portions of the movie? They actually went to where the Von Trapps lived."
Corrie: "Austria?!?"
Joel: "To a city called Salzburg. In the movie, there's a festival at the end where they sing. Do you know that there is a very famous music person who was born in Salzburg? You might know the answer to this. Do you know who it is?"
Corrie: "One of the Beatles?"
Joel: "Not one the Beatles, no. The Beatles were all born in England. He was a composer. He composed 'The Magic Flute.'"
Corrie: "Mozart!?!"
Joel: "Yes…Mozart was born in Salzburg. So one of the things that's neat about the movie is that it is set in a very musically rich part of the world. So when the Captain doesn't want the kids singing and his children don't even know about music, there's kind of a weirdness to that. And, how does it turn out with the Captain? Does he like music?"
Corrie: "Daddy, I remember towards the beginning the housekeeper told Maria that ever since his wife died he made everything like he was back on a ship. Whistles, orders…"
Joel: "And why does she say that he does that?"
Corrie: "Because he doesn't want any more music or laughter or anything that reminds him of his dead wife."
Joel: "Yeah..so he's kind of sad. So, Maria doesn't just help the children, does she?"
Corrie: "She helps him."
Joel: "Do you know what Daddy's favorite part in the movie is? Daddy's favorite scene is when the Captain sings 'Edelweiss' in front of the crowd. Do you think the German soldiers like it when he sings it?"
Corrie: "No."
Joel: "Why do you think they don't like it?"
Corrie: "Then all the people like him?"
Joel: "Yeah, and 'Edelweiss', is that a German song?"
Corrie: "I don't know."
Joel: "Well, at least in the movie it's a song about an Austrian flower, and the Germans didn't want people being proud of being Austrian, they just wanted everyone to be German. So, when he sings the song at the festival, he's shaking his fist at the Germans because he didn't want to be a German like they want him to be. Well, which one of the children do you identify with the most?"
Corrie: "What do you mean identify?"
Joel: "That means you look up at the screen and say, 'Oh, that's kind of like me!'"
Corrie: "Two that are kind of like me. Well, the first one is Liesel because she's the oldest and everything Maria says when she is mad at the Captain and she tells him someday she will grow into a woman and you won't even know her. I feel like that's a little bit like me."
Joel: "Why, that you're going to be a woman some time soon?"
Corrie: "What I meant was like I'm the oldest and the big sister!"
Joel: "Who else do you identify with? I think I know who the other one is…"
Corrie: "The girl that comes in with the book! Brigitta!"
Joel: "Because you like your reading, don't you?"
Corrie: "Yeah!"
Joel: "Was there anything else in the movie you want to talk about?"
Corrie: "I like the beginning, when Maria is singing."
Joel: "Isn't it a beautiful movie? All the beautiful landscapes and everything. All right kiddo, thanks for sharing about this movie with me…it will be on one of my blogs soon."
