The Sweetest Sound

New York City filmmaker Alan Berliner is aggravated by the fact that there are quite a few other Alan Berliners out there sharing his name. Embarking on a bit of a nomenclature odyssey, Berliner suggests that our names are the first gift from our parents, and interviews his about their decision to name him Alan Jay Berliner, asks people on the street if they like their names (and what they think about "Alan," and what sort of image it conjures), and looks into the origin of the name Berliner. Finally, he writes to all the Berliners he can locate, world-wide, inviting the dozen he finds to dinner at his home in New York for a hearty discussion on the nature of identity. The Sweetest Sound, like other Berliner efforts (see review of Nobody's Business in VL-11/99), is a quirky, whimsical film that will nevertheless make viewers think about their names, how names contribute to self-image (positively or negatively), and how names are perceived by others. In fact, it got me to thinking about my own, especially when Berliner crowed about being at the front of the alphabet and offered his sympathy to those of us stuck down in V-W-X-Y-Z-land. Well, Alan, the truth is that things are less crowded here, we enjoyed sitting at the back of the classroom, and we have a lot of exotic, cool, names we don't share with a dozen other guys. Check my byline. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Van Vleck)