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.

Jury Prize, Cannes 2025; Oscar Submission: Germany

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