Sound and Fury

"It wasn't particularly loud, it just came wafting up every day. And after awhile I just wanted to kill Mr. Softie. Who wants to kill an ice cream man?" Such is the testimony of one of a number of people bothered by sounds in Halya Kuchmij's hilarious, insightful and witty investigation of noise and it's impact on humans. Noise, we are told, comes from the Latin "nausea" for stomach sickness. Kuchmij's roving camera takes on all the worst noise offenders, from karaoke bars to boom boxes to airplanes. She also profiles various people who are crusading against noise, like the neighbors who have declared their yard a "leaf blower free zone" and the man who campaigns for Pipe Down, a London organization dedicated to the elimination of Muzak. We are introduced to Norm McKenzie, an Englishman who became a folk hero after attacking a car whose alarm had gone off every night for 7 months in a row. We also follow the efforts of noise police to quell loud parties. From the city that never sleeps (because it can't), New York, NY to the suburbs adjacent to Heathrow Airport, this inventive and provocative film makes a big noise against an unseen and ever increasing form of pollution. My only complaint was that it wasn't available closed captioned (so I could turn it down). Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Ray)