Soma Ghosh
, April 16th, 2021 09:53
Darius Marder s bold debut Sound of Metal asks the viewer to understand rock and deafness as two contradictory things – but it s a complex history, finds Soma Ghosh
‘Life is noise,’ reads the strapline to Darius Marder’s directorial debut
Sound of Metal, an unorthodox drama about a drummer who loses his hearing. It opens with screeching, turbulent guitar feedback, as a grunge heavy metal duo perform a quaking gig. Lou (a nervy performance by Olivia Cooke), lead singer and guitarist, screams orgasmically: ‘Purify!’ Her lover, Ruben (an acting masterclass in wild-man sensitivity by Riz Ahmed), drums like a stoned wizard, wreathed in a halo of spit and sweat. To these two, silence might feel like death – and death haunts their love and art; a tattoo of crossed pistols on Reuben’s chest reads ‘Please kill me’. Yet this film asserts the beauty of silence. The sound design immerses us in the surf of Ruben’s ears, forcing the un
Celebrities With Family Members Who Survived The Holocaust Horace Abrahams/Getty Images
By Elizabeth Collins/Feb. 8, 2021 11:06 am EDT
We use the term Holocaust to describe the period in which the Nazis persecuted and murdered the Jewish people along with homosexuals, Roma, and anyone they deemed unfit, including those who were part of the resistance. While there are many stories of famous people who had family members who lived during the Holocaust, there are very few stories of those who survived. Many folks survived by escaping Nazi occupation early on, while others managed to live through one or more concentration camps.