The History of Sound

In a sweeping, beautifully realised portrait of a bygone era, Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor play two gifted music students whose brief but intense encounter before the First World War paves the way for a journey, recording folk songs, that transforms their lives.

Lionel and David meet in a bar in New England, where their love of traditional music forges an intimate bond. Separated by the US entry into the First World War, when they reunite the pair embark on a trip through the American heartland, recording folk songs and reveries. Never happier, both acknowledge that in the world they live in such bliss cannot last.

Like his previous film Living (2022), Oliver Hermanus’ visually ravishing and stately paced take on Ben Shattuck’s novel is a meticulous recreation of the past. It also exudes the intensity of his earlier films Beauty (2011) and The Endless River (IFFR 2016) in its portrait of desire and longing. Mescal and O’Connor cement their status as two of English-language cinema’s most versatile actors, conveying the complexity of Lionel and David’s turbulent emotions. The film’s music – including a more recent track that might just be the year’s savviest cinematic needle drop – soulfully captures the era of early recordings that represent not only the passing of time but also the sounds of disappearing communities.

– Ian Haydn Smith