Movie: The Sound of Music, an Entertaining Movie for the Whole Family

The movie entitled “The Sound of Music” was released in 1965. In 1966 it was showered with awards. It won Academy Awards for Best Music, Best Picture, and Best Directing, to name a few. By November, 1966, it had become the highest-grossing movie of all time and kept that position for five years. It is my own personal favorite movie of all time. I’m not certain how many times I’ve watched it. The Sound of Music is a heart-warming family movie, based on a true story.

As with many movies “based on a true story,” it has some significant departures from the real story. But this movie contains all you could ask for in a movie—comedy, drama, romance, suspense, gorgeous scenery, graceful dancing, and unforgettable songs. The story contrasts a shallow, materialistic romance with the deep, genuine love of the main character, Maria. Also, daughter Liesl learns that infatuation does not necessarily lead to a valuable relationship.

In the movie, Maria (played by Julie Andrews) is a novice nun assigned to be a governess for the seven children of a widower and retired Naval officer, Captain Georg [Gay-org] Von Trapp (played by Christopher Plummer). The Von Trapp children have already gone through a long line of governesses. Maria quickly wins the hearts of the children and unintentionally wins the heart of their father, who had begun courting an heiress. The story takes place in beautiful Austria, in the time when the Nazis were attempting to take over. The ending is full of tense suspense.

The Sound of Music is rated “G”. The Common Sense Media website gives it five stars and calls it “outstanding.” It is recommended for ages 6 and up. They rate it high for positive role models and positive messages. (There is some smoking by a couple of the characters, which is common for movies made in that era.) Some of the reviews reported that preschoolers love the first part. There is even a puppet show performed by Maria and the Von Trapp children.

Some parents indicated that they sent younger children to bed after the part of the movie where the Von Trapp children perform a special song for guests as they depart for bed while their father continues to host a large party. The suspenseful ending of the movie may be a little frightening for younger children, so you may want to send any children under nine years of age to bed at that point. The full version of the movie lasts nearly three hours. The part wherein the Von Trapp children leave the party and go to bed is shortly before the intermission.

Maria Von Trapp’s story involved Catholic nuns. When I was only about three years old, I had to have a surgery for a mastoid infection in my ear. The infection was the result of complications from the measles. In those days, nuns wore clerical garb called “habits,” similar to those worn by the nuns in the movie. Being in a Catholic hospital, I saw many nuns wearing habits. It was an unfamiliar sight to me, and for me it was a little scary. If your children have never seen Catholic nuns in unusual garb, they may be curious about it. That may provide an opportunity to point out some of the differences between the Protestant and Catholic faiths. You might want to be prepared for that. I believe that one valuable component of this movie is the fact that it shows us how easily our freedom can be lost. The threats of Communism and fascism have become reality for many countries. I think it is a movie well worth watching. Below is a taste.

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