Margarethe Von Trotta The Promise Sparknotes

The German film, T he Promise d irected by Margarethe Von Trotta is revolved around the struggles of the separation and unification of Konrad and Sophie as they face the forced social and political separation of Germany. Margarethe Von Trotta uses music to convey the things that are left unsaid by the characters. Especially for Konrad and Sophie, the music reflects and intensifies the moments in their lives that are significant, such as the moments they are separated and then later unified. The music in the background is reflective of the emotions that Konrad and Sophie felt before they get separated as Sophie and friends escape to the west, and then the longing and loneliness they felt when they realize they can't be together as they had hoped, and the happiness and exciteness they experience when they are first reunited since they're separation.

When the movie begins, music is playing and although the others dance to rock and roll, Sophie and Konrad dance to their own slow rhythm because this moment is unkownly their last dance before they will be separated by the Berlin Wall. As
She is all dressed up in a red gown and diamond earrings for her job and she lays down on a bench and is crying. The next shot is of Konrad who sits up in his bunker is silently crying. They are both crying in the dark but in separate places and ends of Germany. As they cry, the violins intensify in slow and long rhythms. At first the sounds are low, as the seconds go by it gradually gets higher and and longer. The violins are mimicking the feelings of sadness and the longing for each other that they feel when they come to the realization that they can't be together