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Post by lemacd on Mar 30, 2022 17:43:52 GMT
     OMG I just learned how to resize the images that I link for cap discussions and it. is. life, people. In another thread there was discussion about different costumes being one way to suggest that things are happening on a different day, used here clearly to show that teaching them to sing was a process, not only did they sing a lot, they sang everywhere. Cranky ol' me would find it annoying, people just singing the same song over and over with no regard to the other public. But keep in mind that I lived through the Annie craze of the late 70s and was forced endure a slumber party where a dozen girls I didn't know kept singing 'Tomorrow' like they were auditioning... I digress. So putting that aside because who needs to be bothered by my weird triggers amiright?... What else can be said about passage of time? singing in the square, in the public gardens, along the road on bikes? The Captain said, "My children do no sing in public!" and well, too late, Captain. Is there a reason the montage doesn't include any practice being done at the villa? Is it because Maria wants it to be a true surprise for even the household help or because she is afraid she'll be ratted out? Thoughts? |
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Post by indigoblue on Mar 30, 2022 23:03:55 GMT
Presumably this is also the time the kids learnt The Sound of Music, because they knew the song well by the time Elsa arrived.
I have always thought Maria's dress in the horse carriage was a little 'out of synch' with the rest of her wardrobe, because it is both brighter, and has an orange tie at the waist which is quite flamboyant. Next, though, she is back in her drab shift on the steps at the finale of DoReMi in the Mirabelle Gardens. Just wondering whether she had had a rush to the head when she realised Things Were Going Well with the kids, and she let her guard down a bit, only to rein in a bit later when she felt she had overstepped the mark...or The Captain was coming back soon...
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Post by lemacd on Mar 31, 2022 0:05:18 GMT
well, the fabric of the carriage dress is seen in the pile that Frau Schmidt brings to her that first night so maybe they felt it needed to appear as though she didn't just use drapes to sew.
If you look over all the pics, they do repeat some of the outfits but not always everyone at the same time, for example, Liesl's dress is the same in the second and last pictures, but Friedrich is wearing different clothes in both of those. I don't know why I feel the need to point that out.
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Post by indigoblue on Mar 31, 2022 10:28:50 GMT
Ah, but from experience, it's only when you pick out these differences that you realise something else which would have gone unnoticed...
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Post by bluestrawberries on Apr 6, 2022 2:36:29 GMT
I think it's pretty interesting that you brought up that we don't really see them practicing in the villa! I thought that it could have something to do with the fact that Maria probably isn't sure how her singing practice would sit with the other household staff? We only see her briefly interact with Franz and Frau Schmidt, but from these we know (and she knows!) that they've been his staff for a while, and are presumably quite loyal to him and his rules. For example, in the scene where she's introduced to the children, she sees Frau Schmidt telling them to go for their walk around the grounds, as per their father's orders. As friendly and pleasant as Frau Schmidt is to Maria, Maria probably isn't sure how much of an ally she has in Frau Schmidt yet, and likely in the other staff that we don't see onscreen.
I was also thinking that Maria probably wants to let the children experience as much of life outside of the villa as possible, knowing that they've probably been stuck there for the last few years (unless there's evidence that points otherwise, I can't really remember). She probably sees it as part of her role as a governess - to let the children be children and have fun exploring all these wonderful places in their own hometown.
(Though of course, from a production point of view, this montage was a way to show off the gorgeous views all around Salzberg! haha)
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Post by lemacd on Apr 6, 2022 4:41:17 GMT
bluestrawberries ooh, good point, that she wants them to have fun out of the villa as much as possible is a very good reason we don't see them practice there. And yes, visually having them out and about is much more fun. I just thought maybe there would be a quick shot of them singing at home, but I like your answer very much.
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Post by bluestrawberries on Apr 6, 2022 4:52:55 GMT
hehe thanks! for what it's worth, I do think a shot of them singing at home would have been cute!
another thought about this just struck me though - it might also be that the children find it too difficult initially to sing at home? for the older kids, they've probably been conditioned to automatically stop themselves from singing / engaging with any music-related stimuli at home for at least a few years. meanwhile, for the younger kids, they've associated the villa with the idea of seriousness and order for most, if not all of their lives (depending on when Agathe passed). I imagine it's really hard for them to fight these conditioned reactions / assocations - there's probably some element of fear / wariness invovled too, so Maria probably found it easier to help the kids sing when they were in a new, freer environment.
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Post by indigoblue on Apr 6, 2022 22:35:27 GMT
Yes, Frau Schmidt said the Captain had said "no singing, no laughter in the house", so Maria probably thought, "OK, so we'll have singing and laughter OUT of the house..."
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Post by bluestrawberries on Apr 6, 2022 23:48:10 GMT
hahaha YES we all know she's a creative problem solver!
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Post by reverendcaptain on Apr 13, 2022 21:11:50 GMT
bluestrawberries I love and agree with your ideas that the singing was done away from the villa both as a way of getting these kids out of the house to experience new things, and to avoid anyone being confused or upset by breaking the no singing in the house rule. indigoblue I've never really liked the orange striped dress. Maybe it's the colors, maybe it's the style, idk. I like all of her other outfits in the movie (except the dress the poor didn't want). The continuity with it being the same fabric from the pile given by FS is a nice touch, but I'm glad it didn't make more appearances. lemacd I think it gives a realistic vibe that the children have different repeats of clothing on different days. My kids definitely do. Good catch. Also, while talking about clothes, I have never noticed how much I like Louisa's dress in the carriage ride pic. I wish she would have worn that more. How did Marta learn to ride a bike so quickly (I'm assuming this was her first bike ride)? As for singing in public, I always thought the captain's issue was this was that in the festival they would be "entertainers", and this would be a role beneath their standing in society. He seemed ok with them singing to his party guests (though, I don't think he knew this was coming until it was happening), and this was not in public and was a controlled environment. He would probably be appalled if he knew that not only were they roaming the streets in drapes, but were also singing out loud as they did it! This whole sequence is brilliant. It definitely shows off Salzburg, but also it conveys that the children are learning to sing, getting closer to Maria, having fun experiences that kids their age should have, and undoing the harm the crazy rules of their household has had on them. That is a lot to accomplish in a few minutes of film. Ridiculous side note - when I was a kid I thought that the giant medieval castle on the hill in the background of the second pic was the abbey. I must have thought there were A LOT of sisters in Salzburg in the 1930s to fill up a castle. LOL.
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Post by indigoblue on Apr 13, 2022 23:09:26 GMT
Oh, so did I! Only it was only recently that I realised it wasn't a shot of the 'rear end ' of the Abbey! Ooops!
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Post by bluestrawberries on Apr 15, 2022 2:06:29 GMT
This whole sequence is brilliant. It definitely shows off Salzburg, but also it conveys that the children are learning to sing, getting closer to Maria, having fun experiences that kids their age should have, and undoing the harm the crazy rules of their household has had on them. That is a lot to accomplish in a few minutes of film. yes, definitely!! to be honest, stuff like this is why I love rewatching things (esp TSOM, which holds a special place in my heart!) because as a kid I definitely didn't care much about this sequence. I just thought "Oh fun times!" but it's only when you're older (and get to talk to cool friends like y'all!) that you're truly able to appreciate the many brilliant things this film does  |
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