Sound technique · used in 4 films
Using music as the way 2 characters get to know each other. Sharing or arguing over songs stands in for working out identity, respect and desire across a social gap.
Examples
Steven Spielberg · 1977
The UFOs sound a five-tone musical phrase. When scientists broadcast it to space, the reply is a series of numbers that turns out to be coordinates for Devils Tower. At the end, the scientists answer the aliens with their own notes. Music is how the two sides first talk.
Where to see it: The Devils Tower finale. Lacombe answers the aliens' five-note phrase with hand signs, and the alien answers back before the ship leaves.
Sofia Coppola · 2000
After the girls are locked in, the boys and girls communicate by flashlight signals and by playing records over the phone. Songs say what they cannot say. Music is the only door left open between the house and the street.
Where to see it: The phone calls. The boys and the girls trade songs over the phone while the parents keep the girls inside.
Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano · 2011
Philippe's classical music and Driss's Earth Wind & Fire stand for the social gap between them. At the emotional turning point, Philippe hears Driss's music as joyful and stops hearing it as something lesser. Giving in to the music stands for the bigger acceptance between them.
Where to see it: Driss dancing to 'Boogie Wonderland' at Philippe's birthday party, with Philippe laughing as he watches. The music closes the gap before either of them admits it.
Luca Guadagnino · 2017
Elio's piano playing, the Bach transcriptions and the Sufjan Stevens songs on the soundtrack become the language he uses with Oliver. Through them, he says what he cannot say directly. The music carries the desire he has not spoken yet.
Where to see it: Elio demonstrating his piano transcriptions to Oliver. He plays Bach 3 ways, and the performance is a seduction. The notes carry everything he can't put into words yet.
Questions