Music

Abstract

The film starts without music, without the annunciation of an imposing overture, or the introduction of an instrumental prelude. Yet it is not in silence. As a close shot of the family mailbox fills the frame, the sound of field crickets is equally assertive. The susurrations and rhythms of this natural noise swell and sound across the film, adding to the sense of density developing throughout. Whereas in other aspects the film achieves a tone of distinction between the ‘past’ and ‘present’ scenes, the blanket of whispered chirrups envelops both periods, sounding a note of correspondence between mother, daughter, and son. In the ‘past’ sequences, the thick zither of wings adds to the air of quiet suffocation, bleeding together with the hiss of steam from cooking pans. As the volume of chirruping rises at certain points, a more promising quality is noted. The sound accompanies Francesca and Robert on their trips to the covered bridges, and surrounds them as they stroll in the gardens of the Johnson home, after their first dinner together. A tension arises as the sound wraps around the characters. The noise is softly stifling; at the same time, the quiver of wings expresses a nervous awareness of possibility, a flicker of opportunity, a delicate desire to take flight.