I thought that the song Karin sings as she rides to church on her horse signified her innocence. The song is about a bird flying freely, and shows how carefree and happy she is at that moment. She has no idea of the fate that awaits her, and feels comfortable to just sing and ride along slowly to church. There is no background music accompanying her voice, making the song as simple as it could possibly be. In contrast, the ending song is played in the background as Karin's family discovers her body and accepts her fate. It is presented with a church-like choral sound, as if it is a choir of angels. The spring appeared where Karin's body had lain, and then a hymn broke out as the father vowed to build a church to honor his daughter and atone for his sins. To me, this song and the scene it accompanied illustrated the father's repentance and was an example of a hierophany. Eliade described a hierophany as "a breakthrough of the sacred into the world" and although the song is not heard or acknowledged by the principal characters, it serves to cement the idea of a divine presence. I felt that in this film, the lack of music served to give the two major musical moments more impact and substance.
Abigail,
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing out the lack of background music in the movie. I agree with you that it seemed to cement the horror of the rape and murder scene, watching the brutality in complete silence. At times, though, I thought the lack of atmospheric music made the film seem slower--less progressive and more boring. However, of course that all changed with the pivotal scene in the middle of the movie.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteyour comment on how the lack of atmospheric music made the film seem, slower, less progressive, and more boring, I think is directly due to what we are used to watching in cinema. The movies Hollywood produces are created to make money, and that means stuffing the films with quick cuts, fast plot lines, and constant background music. Being raised with this expectation, when we watch a film like The Virgin Spring, our first reaction may be to think that the story is slow or boring. This reason exactly brings forward Zack's request in watching many of these films twice-perhaps the first time so that we can take in how the film is being presented, and how it is different from the usual films that we watch, and then the second time so that we can look beyond what is on the screen and see what is inside of the story. After perhaps being slightly put off without major musical titles, if we really listen to the natural sounds of the film, we will hear the sound of water. This sound of water recurs throughout the film, and is most noticeable at the end of the film with the Virgin Spring. The spring water is louder than it naturally would have been, making it a principle factor in the film.