Four different decades in time. It begins in the 1910s and spanning all the way into the 2020s. Sound of Falling chronicles four adolescent girls as they spend their youth in the same farmhouse. The film ultimately is timely bringing female stories to the screen. However, in the case of these four different timelines overlapping, it becomes a bit too hard to distinguish. Somewhat bloated at times, Sound of Falling can make some viewers uncomfortable. The piece itself may be filled with beauty, but the interior design and message comes across a lot darker than you would originally believe.
One farmhouse, four different girls, all living at the same place, over the last century. In the 1910s, seven-year-old Alma (Hanna Heckt) grows up with her many siblings. Death looms over her and those around her. In the 1940s teenage sisters Erika (Lea Drinda) and Irm (Claudia Geisler-Bading) follow in the footsteps of the farm. Decades later, Irm lives on the farm with her husband and teenage daughter Angelika (Lena Urzendowsky). Then in the 2020s, the house has been renovated by Christa (Luise Heyer) and Hans (Lucas Prisor). The couple live there with their daughters Lenka (Laeni Geiseler) and Nelly (Zoë Baier). There might be a separation between decades and generations, but there is a sonority between their lives that emerges.
An idea that resonated from co-writers spending a summer on an Altmark farm. While there, Mascha Schilinski and Louise Peter saw a photo of three women from 1920 and began to wonder what their lives were like. The fact that Sound of Falling was created from one photograph adds another layer to the film. Knowing that one thing inspired four different stories shows just how creative Schilinski and Peter are as writers. After three years of development, they came to the final product that was used to film what we all see.
Sound of Falling wishes to be a female lead story, but in terms of the content included feels more dark and scarring than anything. With indiscreet hints at sexual assaults, fetishizing, and death, each girl would be lucky to not be left with life changing trauma by the end of their individual lives. It becomes more evident as a female viewer, but you do wish there was more there for women to feel empowered by. While you can read in between the lines of Sound of Falling, you cannot help but feel the pain and sorrow that surrounds each of the individuals. Alma, Erika, Angelika and Lenka are all strong females in their own way, within their generation. But what happens to them and the girls around them makes it somewhat too painful to bear.
Unfortunately, there were times when Sound of Falling becomes all too much to take in terms of plot lines. Nonlinear films tend to not work most of the time, and here is another example. Perhaps simpler to follow when you are a native of the language, but as an international viewer, needing to follow the subtitles while staying up to date with the plot becomes a bit difficult and heavy at times. Within each generation, there is a clear connection between girls. Yet, somehow if not paying enough attention the viewer will find it difficult to partner up who is who. As they age, in the 1940s characters from Alma’s childhood follow along with Irm. Then into the 1980s, Irm is an adult instead of a child. Even with these connections, a lost momentum occurs as it does not remain specific across each decade explored.
As we flicker back and forth through time in Sound of Falling, one cannot help but be in awe of the colouring and design of the film itself. Each shot is framed and coloured quite idealistically and it allows for a beauty to be seen amid the darkness in each girl’s life. Schilinski takes her audience fully into the lives of these girls. We witness them moving through the farmhouse and its surroundings using tracking shots and point-of-view angles as well. Though riddled with darkness and sexual tension, Sound of Falling is visually mesmerizing.
After its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 14, Sound of Falling won the Jury prize. It then made its way around international film festivals, screening in cities such as Munich, Melbourne, Toronto, New York City and London. Only has it just recently begun screening wide around the globe with its UK cinematic release set for Friday 6 March, 2026. As a German film, Sound of Falling follows quite a few typical tropes of the country’s film types. But with four female protagonists at the helm, there is more there than meets the eye. Do be weary, however, of the darker aspects of the film that might be triggering for some viewers.