Sound of Falling

Unfolding in a remote German farmhouse situated along the Elbe, the sublimely haunting, deeply lyrical Sound of Falling traces the mundane and magical experiences of four girls — Alma (Hanna Heckt), Erika (Lea Drinda), Angelika (Lena Urzendowsky), and Lenka (Laini Geiseler) — who call the foreboding place home at various intervals over the course of a century. Living under war is one of the trials endured by the girls, but conflict and hardship are a throughline across inhabitants. As we flit back and forth in time, cycles and patterns emerge, and just as the girls’ experiences start to mirror one another’s, so too does their resilience.

In turns delicate and devastating, Mascha Schilinski’s ambitious sophomore feature vaults her to the forefront of international cinema’s most exciting and assured rising talents. From the enchanting opening sequences, cinematographer Fabian Gamper seems akin to a spectral presence, sweeping through both rooms and eras as if untethered by traditional notions of gravity or time. Ethereal and bewitching, this is cinema at its most experiential.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a filmmaker wield the tools of her craft with such an ingenious and committed sense of mischief. Sound of Falling… is both disorienting and enveloping; it knocks you off your feet and then sweeps you up again.

Justin Chang, The New Yorker

Schilinski’s direction is intoxicating and unnerving, refusing easy explanations as it immerses viewers in a dreamlike atmosphere.

Peter Howell, Toronto Star

It’s an astonishing work, twining together the lives of four generations of families with an intricacy and intimacy that feels like an act of psychic transmission.

Alison Willmore, New York Magazine