By Abigail Lynch, ’29

Staff Writer

“The Sound of Music” is a movie about a young woman named Maria who lives in Austria and is full of high spirits and positivity. She lives as a nun but leaves her abbey to become a governess to the von Trapp children, and later falls in love with their father, Captain Georg von Trapp. The movie shows how people around Maria change and grow because of her optimism and loving personality. For example, the seven children ranging in age from 5 years old to 16 start acting like children rather than soldiers in an army when Maria takes charge instead of their strict father. Also, the captain and baroness planned to marry but decided they were not suitable for each other as Georg found his love for Maria.

This movie has been a favorite of mine since I was little. I used to fall asleep to this movie in my parents’ old bedroom and I used to love the songs Maria sang to the children. I also loved the puppet show scene. Now that I’m older, I like the historical context too. The story takes place during Nazi Germany’s rise to power, and its annexation of Austria. Captain von Trapp is called to serve the Nazis, but resists, putting himself and his family in danger. The scenes at the end of the movie when the von Trapp children flee the Nazis during the music festival is one of my favorites. As they sing the goonight song, they run to hide in Maria’s old abbey, where the nuns sabotage the Nazis’ car and help the von Trapp family escape Austria. I am interested in learning about World War II and other past wars, and “The Sound of Music” was inspired by a real family.

I wrote this review as a tribute to my dad since he wrote movie reviews in high school. This movie is one of our many favorites to rewatch and talk about since he and I talk about history a lot.