#TIFF25: “SOUND OF FALLING” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

Mascha Schilinski’s Cannes Jury Prize–winner follows the lives of four women from different generations who all lived on the same farm in northern Germany. This particular farm sits on a tumultuous region, one that saw both world wars and defined East and West Germany. The four generations of women are: Alma (Hanna Heckt) in the early 20th century, Erika (Lea Drinda) in the 1940s, Angelika (Lena Urzendowsky) in the 1980s, and Lenka (Laeni Geiseler) in the present.

Sound of Falling braids past and present throughout the narratives and timeframes. We watch as these women live and struggle with facing the confines and cages their world has thrust them into. Regardless of the decade, one thing is certain: each of these women is under the suppression of men, both within their homes and at large. Some are forced to be servants, while others are looked at as objects.

Schilinski uses emotive and cerebral filmmaking that realizes on the visuals to tell the story. The dread that follows these women in their lives is mirrored by the incredible cinematography by Fabian Gamper. The camera feels like a ghost following these women and girls. Haunting them. It creates an atmosphere that oozes with dread at every frame.

The first hour takes a bit to settle into. It feels almost meditative. We are waiting to see what story unfolds. Once we understand the lives of these women, we see the story for what it is. It’s a film that touches on its country’s troubled history while remaining intimate.

Sound of Falling screens at TIFF:

Sun. Sept 7 at 5:45 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Mon. Sept 8 at 7:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sat. Sept 13 at 7:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto