Why This One Song Haunts So Many Scenes

Why does Clair de Lune keep appearing in movies, and why can it make even the happiest scenes feel strangely sad? Claude Debussy wrote Clair de Lune more than a century ago, but filmmakers are still returning to it. From the quiet victory at the end of Ocean’s Eleven, to the strange tenderness of Everything Everywhere All at Once, the first love of Twilight, and Black Mirror: Hotel Reverie, the same piece keeps finding its way into moments that feel beautiful and temporary at the same time. This video essay is about why Clair de Lune does that to us, why it can make a moment feel like a memory before it is even over, and why sometimes we start missing the happiest parts of our lives while we are still living them. #clairdelune #debussy #filmmusic #videoessay #oceanseleven #everythingeverywhereallatonce #twilight #blackmirror #twilightsoundtrack