Sunday, March 15, 2015

SOUND OF NOISE - 9

I really like musicals.   There's something about exuberant noisemaking which always cheers me up.  I don't care if it's a beautiful film full of poignant moments or a garish movie jammed with thoughtless cliches.  I will (and have) watched them all and been delighted every time.

I was digging through the Netflix pile of tacky Bollywood musicals to watch when SOUND OF NOISE swished by.  I clicked on it because there was a metronome, a pack of folks in balaclavas, and the title had two music-ish words in it.

I am delighed to report that SOUND OF NOISE is an excellent film, which is beautifully shot and has many poignant moments. It also has a LOT of music.  It's about rogue percussionists and a police dective who is in charge of stopping these musical "terrorists."  The sound in this movie is fantastic.   The ambient noise which makes up a large part of the soundtrack (much to my delight!  Ambient sound is the best!) in places is scored over with lush orchestration or catchy tropical beats.   I found this completely facinating because I noticed the movie score and it's emotional affect because it isn't part of the ambient world the characters lived in.

But, I'll stop geeking out about the noise.  It's also important that you know this movie is funny.   Because how else can a group of drummers determine who gets the first solo than a 4-hr drum-off?

"I am so mad that you won that I kicked my drum set over!"
















And I am here to tell you that the empty void you call your life will be made whole once you've seen an enraged man in a Christmas sweater beat a bagpipe to death.

"Just. Be. SILENT!!"
It's on Netflix (so that means it's free, right?) so just watch it already.  It's the best musical ever made about a man who hates music.