The Sweetest Sound

D: Alan Berliner. (16mm, 60 min.)

In The Sweetest Sound, director Berliner explores his obsession with names, most specifically, his own name and the fact that he must share it with at least 12 other Alan (or Allen or Allan …) Berliners in the world. How has their name affected them? Do they have transcendental connections, like twins separated at birth? Is a name a sort of cosmic predestination? Berliner gives us his own whimsical, neurotic, contemplative, and exhaustive views on the subject and throws in those of a few relatives and men and women on the street as well. He also invites all of the other Alan Berliners to dinner to further explore the matter. Insightful, hilarious, silly, and slightly alarming (at least for people whose names begin with letters at the end of the alphabet), The Sweetest Sound is a feast of oddball trivia, engaging personalities, and rhythmical visual imagery. It is such a good time and its host so charming that I can’t help wishing that my name were Alan Berliner, so that I might be invited to dinner, too. (Dobie, 3/17, 5:30pm)

This article appears in March 16 • 2001.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US