Since childhood, Maria Zandvliet, like many others, has had an obsession with The Sound of Music, one of the most watched films of all time. The film is watched annually at Christmas by families all over the world. Even in North Korea, they are fans of the von Trapp family, the songs, the snowy peaks of the Alps and the dirndls. And, of course, everyone loves Maria. So does this Dutch Maria. She wants to know what it is like to be the epitome of a good mother; sweet, caring, resilient, strict and just.
Therefore, Maria will single-handedly attempt to recreate the whole story with all the characters precisely to the millisecond. She will become not only Maria, but also Gretl, Marta, Brigitta, Kurt, Louisa, Friedrich and Liesl as well as the captain. She will finally be part of a happy family. Every scene, every song, she will reenact as precisely as possible in order to explore questions about childhood, motherhood, and longing for the image of the future you had as a child. How does a child fantasise about parenthood? What did we expect from the future as children and what do we still expect from ourselves today? How do you become truly happy? The film makes it crystal clear to all children; follow Mary’s path and you will become happy. Marry a man who could be a good father, live in nature, sing and dance, make your children happy. It is promise of happiness. But is it perhaps a false one?