Simon Read [Film Festival 11.26.11] review musical comedy thriller romance crime



Year: 2010
Directors: Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjärne Nilsson
Writers: Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjärne Nilsson & Jim Birmant
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 8 out of 10

Remember the moment in Delicatessen when the couple are sitting on a bed with rusty squeaking springs; they rock back and forth as the bed emits a kind of music, and the sound travels and is complimented by dozens of other sounds permeating around the whole building in that classic Jeunet way. Sound of Noise takes the idea of household objects creating beautiful music and applies it to an entire city, as six drummers become what can only be describes as musical terrorists who band together to rid the world of “boring shitty music.” It’s a completely charming black comedy from start to finish with some seriously kick-ass music and plenty of bizarre and memorable characters.

Pity poor Amadeus, born into a family of musical prodigies, he’s tone deaf from birth. Ostracized and mocked by his sneering kin he becomes the chief of police and starts to investigate a curious case of musical sabotage that, while certainly not lethal, is nonetheless irksome to someone who openly hates all music. After each episode of musical anarchy the scene of the crime is host to metronomes which tick ominously in the aftermath. The musicians themselves are a rag-tag bunch of freaks who compete constantly to prove their skills and delight in bursting into banks and hospitals screaming, “Hands up! This is a gig!” Their four point campaign - ‘Music for 6 Drummers and 1 City’ – begins in an operating theatre and escalates as far as the city power plant, as their fearless and sexy leader Sanna takes them on a journey to change the face of music forever. Amadeus tracks them down but realizes the only way to stop them is to fight fire with musical fire. Given that he can’t even play chopsticks, this might pose a slight problem.

Everything works here: the music, the comedy, performances and direction all click into place and make this a very easy film to flag-up as one of the most oddball and enjoyable flicks of the year. For anyone who fondly remembers the comedy musicals of the 70’s (Phantom of the Paradise and Shock Treatment spring to mind) or even rock ‘n roll comedies like Hedwig and the Angry Inch, you’ll be hard pressed not to fall in love with Sound of Noise - it’s a dope jam. Slight enough to not overstay it’s welcome, but witty enough to stick in the mind for a while afterwards and with surreal elements of fantasy and charm (after the events items become mute, and unable to make any noise even if thrown around) it’s just a charming movie through and through. Highly recommended for anyone with a soul.

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