Captain von Trapp: My fellow Austrians, I shall not be seeing you again perhaps for a very long time. I would like to sing for you now... a love song.

What is 'The Sound of Music' about?

Religion; the idea that love for God can go hand in hand with sexual love, that just because you're not a nun doesn't mean you don't love God.

Love; a saccharine tale of two people from very different backgrounds who help each other find true happiness, through music, and the children they are responsible for. An idea of reward for good behaviour in life - "Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good".

Wealth; an idea that wealth is not everything, shown through the comeuppance of the Baroness, and the eventual realisation of this fact for Max Dettweiler.

Childhood; the idea that childhood should not be constrained, a very romantic ideal that Maria brings to the Captain, and is eventually accepted.

No. For me, it's not really about anything of these things. Obviously, it is about all of these things, but in reality, it has one stand-out component; patriotism.

Not nationalism; in fact nationalism is the very thing it stands against, in its most extreme form, the third reich. Well, not it, the film, as such, but the character of Georg Von Trapp. Throughout the story, what with the general emphasis on Edelweiss, the austrian flower to which he sings his final love song, inspiring rapturous applause from the anschluss-fearing fellow Austrians; the focus on traditional Austrian customs, such as the dance which the Captain and Maria dance, the Lendler, and the pure Austrian-ness of the Lonely Goatherd. "More Strudel, Herr Dettweiler?"; the very same principle.

And then of course, there is the overt resistance to the anschluss which Von Trapp pulls out at the end; following the emotional rendition of 'Edelweiss', the family escape, to neutral Switzerland, over the mountains (by way of a curious Abbey scene consisting of hiding behind gravestones, which only ever showed me that Rolf is an absolute villain).
Displaying the Austrian flag at his party, confronting Nazi zealot Herr Zeller:

Herr Zeller: Perhaps those who would warn you that the Anschluss is coming - and it is coming, Captain - perhaps they would get further with you by setting their words to music.
Captain von Trapp: If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section.
Herr Zeller: You flatter me, Captain.
Captain von Trapp: Oh, how clumsy of me - I meant to accuse you.

Captain Von Trapp is a man who will stand for what he believes, stand against the regime which did, in the end, lead to so much loss, waste, regret and evil; and 'climb ev'ry mountain'. If only one Captain's stand could have prevented the war.

Here's a film made so much better by its element of truth behind the story.
Here's a film I love, if it's cool or not.

Sq.