The very beginning of the movie was filled with the use of drums. This symbolized the terror and complexity of the subject matter. It did this through the deep and vibrant sounds; the deep sounds depicted the feelings of the soldiers as they were confused as to what to do in the situation they faced. They had to move back from fighting because they were not well equipped to fight and feared loosing their lives. Also, it foreshadowed the doom the soldiers faced. Although they were able to save their lives by not being in the midst of harsh fire, they had to face the commanding officers about how they did not follow orders. The profound mood that the drums left encompassed these emotions. The vibrant sound set a somewhat different tone. It made me feel as though the firing and fighting was taking place in front of me. The short up and down-like vibration set the tone for the unexpected nature of war and the changing fate of soldiers.
The end of the movie was similarly interesting because of the incorporation of music. The German girl sings while three men are set to be executed. The girl is forced to sing over the opposition of hooting and yelling. Hooting and yelling can describe the way the commanders deal with their soldiers. The sound does not have any meaning or symphony, yet it overpowers the German girl’s rhythm. The singing, on the other hand, does have meaning, tone and tempo. This can express the mindset of the soldiers who moved away from fighting. Yet, the paradox lies in the fact that the hooting overpowers the progressive singing. Further, the hooting versus singing is analogs to barbarianism versus humanity. The hooting is meaningless, which can be compared to a sound that barbarians would make, while the singing which has meaning can be compared to rationality and humanity. The movie questioned the concept of barbarianism overtaking humanism. It did not answer the question as to why this happens within the army, but does bring this fact in light to be criticized.
Overall, I found that the use of music is very important in the movie Paths of Glory. It added suspense and drama to the plot. Further, it heightened the meaning of events through sounds. I think one of the main reasons the use of instruments was incorporated into the film was because music was a huge part of war: in a time of war it is hard to express ones feelings through words. For example, the man who was shell shock could not express himself. But, contrary to words, music encompasses feeling of beat and motion; it strikes one in a way in which words cannot and is able to transcend to all different types of people, even those with disabilities due to the war. It has the ability to soothe, comfort and alert. Because music was such an important aspect of a soldier’s life, I believe that the movie incorporated music to pass on the feelings of soldiers to the viewer.
