As the reading  makes it clear in the very first chapter, film shares a lot of similarities with music, and many other art forms:

"Film employs the compositional elements of the visual arts: line, form, mass, volume, and texture. Like painting and photography, film exploits the subtle interplay of light and shadow. Like sculpture, film manipulates three-dimensional space. But, like pantomime, film focuses on moving images, and as in dance, the moving images in film have rhythm. The complex rhythms of film resemble those of music and poetry, and like poetry in particular, film communicates through imagery, meta- phor, and symbol. Like the drama, film communicates visually and verbally: visually, through action and gesture; verbally, through dialogue. Finally, like the novel, film expands or compresses time and space, traveling back and forth freely within their wide borders.” (The Art of Watching Films, pg. 3)

So perhaps it's no surprise that I love music just about as much as I love movies. When the two are formally combined, one gets  the musical. Musical theatre has been around since ancient times, perhaps reaching a pinnacle with the chorus of ancient Greek theatre. Ironically, the Greek χορός, or khoros, means something more like singing and dancing, as members of the khoros were more likely to dance as well as sing in order to complement the emotional states of the actors on stage.    

As mentioned in the previous module on sound, when motion picture technology emerged in the early 20th century, films were often accompanied by music, played live in the theatre, that had a similar function to that of the Greek khorus: to convey the emotional component of the narrative arc.

Perhaps it isn't so surprising then that, as soon as synchronized sound was invented and perfected, the first thing Hollywood did was produce a musical: 1927’s The Jazz Singer.  Since that time, the musical film has emerged as one of our most beloved genres, with award-winning iterations for many sub-genres of music, from classical (Amadeus (1985)), to jazz (West Side Story (1961) and Chicago (2002)), to the undefinable and uniquely American (My Fair Lady (1964)).

The Reading

For this module you are going to begin by reading Chapter 9 in The Art of Watching Films (pgs. 250 – 266).

The Watching

The Testament of Ann Lee (2025) by Mona Fastvold

For this module, you’re going to watch a film that engages with music in a very unusual way. Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee (2025), co-written with Brady Corbet, is an epic historical drama starring Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, the founder of the Shaker religious movement in the 18th century.

At first glance (listen?), this film might seem like a musical. Throughout the film, music and dance appear organically within scenes, often intertwined with the action and daily life of the characters. However, it isn’t quite a musical in the traditional sense. In most musicals, songs are used to directly advance the plot or clarify a character’s emotional state. Here, the music and movement function differently. They exist as part of the lived world of the characters, rather than as narrative explanation.

In some ways, the film is doing something similar to what the Shakers themselves did within Christianity. Shaker worship famously incorporated song, rhythmic movement, and communal dance into everyday spiritual practice. These expressions weren’t simply performances; they were manifestations of belief and shared identity. Fastvold’s film mirrors that sensibility, weaving music and movement into the texture of life rather than using them strictly as storytelling devices.

As you watch, try to pay attention to the following:

• How music and dance appear within scenes that otherwise feel like conventional dramatic moments
• The way musical expression reflects community, belief, and emotional intensity
• When music seems to support the narrative, and when it simply exists as part of the world of the film

I won't lie to you: this is a challenging film, and at times it can be difficult to watch. But it is also incredibly gripping and beautifully crafted. The filmmaking is precise and elegant, and Amanda Seyfried’s performance as Ann Lee is pretty remarkable.

 

Note: as always, the media for this can be found in the LEH 353 - Visual Storytelling library on Plex.

The Questions 

After completing the reading and the watching, please complete the following questions: