The History of Sound

The film spans multiple locations across America and Europe. Key settings include Boston, where Lionel studies at the conservatory, rural Kentucky where he returns to his family farm, and European cities like Rome and Oxford that shape his career. The diverse landscapes, from urban conservatory halls to country farms, frame the characters' cultural journey through folk music.

The story spans from 1917 during World War I through to 1980. It begins with young Lionel and David as students in 1917, follows their folk music collection trips in the late 1910s and early 1920s, and concludes in 1980 when Older Lionel receives the wax cylinders. The narrative covers over six decades of American history and personal memory.

Lionel Worthing is a Boston Conservatory student passionate about folk music who returns to Kentucky to tend his family farm when the conservatory closes. His love for collecting folk songs drives the story, and his decades-long dedication to ethnomusicology stems from his profound bond with David and the memory of their shared work.

David White is Lionel's fellow student at the conservatory who bonds with him over folk songs before the war interrupts their plans. He travels with Lionel to collect songs, and their shared devotion reveals a deep romantic connection. His death from shell shock becomes the pivotal, haunting turning point that shapes Lionel's entire life.

Lionel and David's relationship begins as a partnership in documenting folk music and evolves into a tender romance. Their bond endures through letters and shared songs despite the distance imposed by war. David's tragic death from shell shock leaves Lionel devastated, driving his lifelong dedication to preserving the music and memories they created together.

The film explores three interconnected themes: Love and Loss, depicting the romance between Lionel and David that is crushed by David's death; Memory & Music, showing how folk songs preserve personal and cultural histories on wax cylinders; and War & Trauma, illustrating how World War I shapes choices through shell shock and displacement. These themes intertwine across the decades-long narrative.

The wax cylinders are the recordings Lionel and David made of folk songs during their travels. They represent both a personal archive of their relationship and a larger cultural preservation effort. In 1980, these cylinders resurface and become Lionel's final connection to David and the past he has carried for decades, catalyzing his reckoning with memory and loss.

Belle Swain is David White's widow who holds the letters and the secret of the wax cylinders. She reveals what she knows about Lionel and David's relationship and helps Lionel discover what happened to their recording project. Her decisions and revelations shape Lionel's search for closure and his understanding of their shared past.

World War I serves as the transformative backdrop that interrupts Lionel and David's plans and ultimately leads to David's death from shell shock. The war's trauma influences the lovers' separation, shapes Lionel's sense of duty, and casts a long shadow over the entire narrative. The film explores how war trauma impacts resilience, guilt, and the slow healing process that follows.

In 1980, Older Lionel Worthing, now an established ethnomusicologist, receives the wax cylinders that he and David recorded decades earlier. This event triggers his final reckoning with the past, confirming the permanent loss of David while also providing a poignant connection to the love and music they shared. The 1980 timeline represents the bittersweet culmination of his lifelong journey.

Clarissa Roux is a socialite in Oxford who becomes a romantic interest for Lionel during his time in Europe. Their encounter represents themes of desire and disruption in the life of a cosmopolitan musician, echoing the broader themes of love, choice, and the paths not taken that pervade the film.

Folk songs in the film serve as vessels of memory, capturing both personal moments between Lionel and David and the broader cultural heritage of America. The act of recording folk music blurs the line between intimate affection and public archive, linking private longing with a nation's musical history. The recordings become Lionel's way of preserving what he loved most.