Film Preview: The History of Sound (2025)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(August 3, 2025) Original
(August 24, 2025) New Trailer (#2)

Release Date:

September 12, 2025

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Two young men during World War I set out to record the lives, voices and music of their American countrymen.”

Poster Rating: C+

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Review: (#1, C+) If this were a color design, it would be very easy to dismiss. The black-and-white aesthetic gives it a haunting quality that makes it stand out just a little better.

Trailer Rating: B- / B-

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Review: (#1, B-) The focus on Paul Mescal singing detracts from the creation of dramatic tension. The relationship between his character and Josh O’Connor’s is established up front and the thematic concept of seeing music (rather than hearing it) is an age-old idea that’s flogged too heavily in the trailer. That said, there’s a glimmer of intrigue here that comes from its striking visual moments even if the content doesn’t quite support it.

(#2, B-) Highlighting Mescal’s singing again is certainly effective but most of the content of the trailer is rehashed from the first preview and that makes everything feel a little dull and underwhelming. That lack of variance may make audiences wonder if the film will be much more than what is presented in the trailer.

Oscar Prospects:

The film had so much Oscar promise that its lackluster festival debut may have destroyed all of its chances at Oscar nominations. We’ll have to see how the year-end fetes pan out.