When I read the description of Sound of Noise in the Fantastic Fest brochure, I thought there’s no way it could be as awesome as it sounds. It’s about musical terrorists, but if it were really that awesome, some Hollywood people would have done it already, right? Well, I discovered at a sold out Fantastic Fest screening that Sound of Noise is one of those rare indie foreign films that is as awesome as it sounds.

More after the jump…

Sanna (Sanna Persson) recruits a motley gang of disgruntled drummers to help her and her partner perform their symphony throughout the city. Their public disturbance is technically illegal, so tone deaf cop Amadeus (Bengt Nilson) is on their trail. It’s basically a heist movie where the score is a performance and they show you the plan and scope out the joint before they execute it.

They’re not just banging on the scenery. They use the signature noises of various machines as part of their composition. They use the texture of the road and engine speeds to create music with a van. These drummers are doing it for real. There are no fake computer noises and their creativity takes Stomp to the next level.

The four movements of the symphony become the major set pieces of the film but there’s more. The driving song is simply an introduction. There are drum offs between gang members. On the run from Amadeus, one of the drummers makes music as he passes by tempting vibrational surfaces.

I never would have thought I’d sympathize with a group of drummers. I have a hard time with modern music that’s all rhythm. Call me old fashioned but I like melody and harmony The spirit of rebellion is healthy though. The performances are destructive and dangerous, but so whimsical it’s contagious. Treating music like a crime is satire and Sound of Noise pays off brilliantly.