Mon Oncle

The most interesting thing about the sound in Mon Oncle is that none of it was recorded while it was being filmed. This technique makes the sound of the utmost importance because every sound is deliberate. Everything you hear in the film was carefully thought about and recorded. But because of this technique, the sound in Mon Oncle is usually sparse, awkward, and unnaturally mixed. This is especially prevalent in the beginning scene where the mother is cleaning a running car with a rag. Even though one would struggle to hear the sound a rag makes when it wipes something in complete silence, you can hear it over the roar of the car engine. While this does make me tilt my head, it serves its purpose by directing my attention to the rag instead of anything else on the screen. Another example is when the father walks, his footsteps sound almost nothing like what I would associate with the sound of footsteps in real life, but it works because the sound is happening every time one of his feet hit the ground. This marriage of visual and aural rhythm makes the viewer ok with the odd sounding steps. All of this adds an extra bit of quirkiness, meaning, and fun to the movie.