There is nothing sophisticated or cinematic about this clip yet it wonderfully demonstrates the power of sound in film. Directors often use sound as a literal, pragmatic tool (ie if you see a car, you hear a car). However, if it is allowed to be playful, sound can do so much more. It can hijack the picture and change what you see. Here we see a baby playing, writing a masterpiece, mastering table tennis, sharpening knives, DJing, and murdering a woman. All of this is done without any of the relevant visuals being presented.

Van Sant often incorporates pre-existing works of musique concrète in his films, alongside pre-existing music and sound design to create really beautiful sound collages. There is a moment in Elephant where the blend of sounds becomes disorienting. We follow Alex – a school shooter – as he meanders through a school he has just rampaged. The sounds we hear do not match the picture at all: water drips, birds chirp, a woman chatters and winds blow. What do these sounds mean? I don’t know. If Van Sant wanted us to know exactly how to feel, he probably would have used music here. But that would have kept us safely detached. Normal, everyday sounds are what you actually hear when the worst thing in the world happens. And this is a film about that.

Hukkle (2002)
Directed by Georgy Palfi