Rumors have been swirling about the gay historical romance The History of Sound for years, and now we’re finally getting some tea about the film and the potential steamy sex scenes out of the Cannes Film Festival.
Details about the film have been shrouded in mystery since it was first announced back in 2021, and it was revealed that Challengers actor Josh O’Connor and All of Us Strangers lead Paul Mescal are starring in the period piece.
For years, it was unclear when the film would come out, but now it has finally had its world premiere at Cannes, and people can't stop talking about it. Mescal is already standing up to reviewers who are comparing the film to Brokeback Mountain in unfavorable terms, and director Oliver Hermanus has finally opened up about the touching romance at the heart of the film and how the sex scenes compare to his recent spicy series, Mary & George.
So here’s everything we know about the sexy historical drama taking Cannes by storm.
Paul Mescal and director Oliver Hermanus pose during a photocall for the film "The History of Sound" at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2025.
MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images
The film, conceived in 2020 and adapted from a collection of short stories by American author Ben Shattuck, is set during WWI, and follows Lionel (Mescal) and David (O’Connor) as they embark on a cross-country trip to record the lives, voices, and music of their countrymen. "In this snatched, short-lived moment in their young lives, and while discovering the epic sweep of the U.S., both men are deeply changed,” the official description reads.
Mescal plays a talented singer from rural Kentucky who left his family farm to attend the Boston Music Conservatory, while O’Connor stars as a charming music composing student who is drafted into the end of the war, and then spends the winter of 1920 walking through Maine collecting folk songs to preserve them for future generations.
"I instantly fell in love with Ben Shattuck's flawlessly beautiful short story and knew I had to be involved in its journey to the screen," Hermanus said in 2021. "Paul and Josh are two of the most promising actors of their generation who will share with us deeply soulful performances. This is an unexpected love story that needs to be told -- it is a journey through the life of America, across the 20th century and the traditions of American folk music, all seen through the bond between two men immersed in the history of sound. This undeniably powerful story will certainly resonate with audiences the world over."
Paul Mescal during "The History of Sound" photocall at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 22, 2025 in Cannes, France.
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
The film had been teased for so many years that people had high expectations for the love scenes between Mescal and O'Connor, and while the Cannes audience gave the film a six-minute standing ovation, reviewers were less thrilled with the pace of the film and the lack of steamy sex scenes. World of Reel called it “Brokeback Lite,” and Variety compared it to the gay cowboy film as well, writing that it is “Brokeback Mountain on Sedatives.” But Mescal takes offense at this comparison.
“I personally don’t see the parallels at all with Brokeback Mountain, other than we spent a little time in a tent,” Mescal said at Cannes after his film premiered, The Guardian reports. Mescal admitted that he loves Brokeback Mountain, but likes that The History of Sound is different. "I find those comparisons relatively lazy and frustrating, but for the most part I think the relationship I have to the film is born out of the fact that it’s a celebration between these men’s love and not the repression of their sexuality," he said.
Despite what fans were hoping for, there aren't many points in the film when Mescal and O'Connor's characters even kiss, but for Hermanus, that wasn't the point of the film. In an interview with Varietyfrom Cannes, Hermanus called the film “a very romantic story.” The characters in The History of Sound fall for each other quickly, a decision the director made because, “It’s 2025, and queer audiences want more.” He continued, “We confuse yearning for obsession and unrequited love. You can long for someone, and not just because they aren’t there.”
Hermanus isn’t going for shocking sex scenes like he has in other projects he’s helmed. This time, he’s more focused on romance. “There are moments, but I was very determined to not have the assumptions of sex scenes be pivotal, or gear changes in their relationship,” Hermanus revealed. “That’s not the film. They stick together from the first day they meet. What I love is the moments that bring sex about, and then the moments after. Josh’s character has this amazing thing where he keeps collecting all the feathers that are falling out of Paul’s pillow and stuffing them back in. That’s romance.”
Paul Mescal arrives for the screening of the film "The History of Sound" at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2025.
SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images
Very. While the sex scenes might not be as…diverse as Hermanus’ previous project Mary & George, you’ll be treated to tender romance, yearning, and, if we’re lucky, there will be a couple of scenes to scratch the itch of fans dying to see Mescal and O’Connor's chemistry on screen.
Hermanus also said that he has an affinity for queer films that focus on sex. “I love films that have raw sexuality, it’ll take a lot for me to be shocked or feel endangered by queer sex,” he said.
Mescal and O’Connor are two of the hottest names in Hollywood, so the internet is very excited to see them share the screen as gay lovers. Mescal rose to fame for his role in Normal People, for playing Andrew Scott’s neighbor-turned-lover in All of Us Strangers, and then for starring in Rodney Scott’s blockbuster Gladiator II.
O’Connor has also made a name for himself playing queer characters is the past. He played opposite Zendaya in Challengers, where he shared a kiss with Mike Faist, and starred as a gay man in God’s Own Country in 2017.
This isn’t the only queer project Hermanus has helmed, in fact he’s made a career out of it, from Beauty to The History of Sound. But it’s his series Mary & George that is probably his horniest creation to date. In the Variety interview, Hermanus said, “I made a TV show in 2023 called Mary and George, and we would stand on set trying to think of new sex positions. I would turn to Nicholas Galitzine and say, 'What have you not done?' He would go, 'I got fucked that way yesterday. I already did an orgy with that guy the other day. I topped that guy and bottomed for the other.’ The intimacy coordinator would come over with an iPad and flip through new positions. It was the point where I was just trying to differentiate a French orgy from a British one, like Legos.”
While Mubi used to be an unknown entity in the industry, the distributor has been making a name for itself as of late, picking up The Substance and Queer. Back in February the indie distributor picked up The History of Sound and is planning a theatrical release for sometime in 2025. The release date will be announced in the coming months after its premiere at Cannes.
Hermanus won the Queer Palm at Cannes in 2011 for his film Beauty, will he do it again for The History of Sound?
