TOW #28: Documentary Rhetorical Analysis

     "Everything is good and bad. I look at the good side," says Alice Sommer in The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life. This 2013 documentary captures the life of Sommer, then a 109-year-old Holocaust survivor whose life was continually saved by music. Set in an interview format, the documentary begins with Sommer describing her life leading up to the Holocaust. She began playing the piano from a young age, and her family was close friends with musicians like Mahler and Kafka. These childhood experiences allowed her love of music to grow, and Sommer became a concert pianist as an adult. However, in 1943, Sommer and her son were sent to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp for Jewish celebrities and musicians that was used for Nazi propaganda. There, she remained happy by playing in concerts and spreading her love of music, and in 1945, Theresienstadt was liberated by the Soviets, and Sommer moved to Israel to be with her family. In 1986, she moved to London where she played the piano for hours each day, bringing joy to herself and all those around her, until she passed away on February 23, 2014, at 110.
     The purpose of The Lady in Number 6 was to tell the story of Alice Sommer and, through her, to demonstrate the amazing power of music. To achieve this, the documentary juxtaposed the horrors of the Holocaust with Sommer's stories of the restorative power of music and presented everything in Sommer's own extremely positive and optimistic tone.
     As Sommer's story progresses, she begins to describe how during the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, her concert grand piano was confiscated by the Nazis, and she was forbidden to perform – to do what she loved. This crushing announcement is then directly juxtaposed with Sommer's story about the situation. She says that she managed to hide a piccolo piano from the Nazis, and would play it in her spare time. However, this brought joy to not only Sommer and her son, but also to Mr. Herman, a Nazi who lived in her building. Through this juxtaposition, the audience is able to understand the power of music – for Sommer, playing the piano was able to keep her happy even when her husband was deported and the source of her livelihood was taken away, and this power of music stretched even to someone who was supposed to hate her.
     Throughout the documentary, Sommer remains positive, no matter what she is discussing. When describing her time in Theresienstadt, Sommer says that she managed to laugh even while she was there because it kept her and those around her happy. Later in life, when her son died at 64 (he didn't wake up from anesthesia), Sommer recounts the experience in a positive light, saying that dying the way he did (peacefully and without pain) is the best way to go. Sommer's continuously positive perception of events in her life gives the documentary a positive and optimistic tone, which truly convinces watchers of the strength of music.

She Never Stopped Playing:

Pictured here at 109, Sommer never stopped playing the piano and doing what she loved. Because of this, she was a constant inspiration to her friends, family, and neighbors.