In Friendly Witness, Sonbert returned, after 20 years, to sound. In the first section of the film, he deftly edits a swirling montage of images – suggestive of loves gained and love lost–to the tunes of four rock songs. Fred Camper said, “At times the words of the songs seem to relate directly to the images we see…; at other times words and images seem to be working almost at cross-purposes or relating only ironically. Similarly, at times the image rhythm and music rhythm appear to dance together, while at others they go their separate ways.” — Jon Gartenberg