Films involving Deaf

Deaf: Major Films

Title	Beyond Silence (1996)
Alternative/Original Title	Jenseits der Stille
Disability	Deaf
Country	Germany
Length	109
Genre	Drama
Rating	5
Director	Caroline Link
Cast	Sylvie Testud Tatjana Trieb Howie Seago Emmanuelle Laborit Sibylle Canonica
Notes	In German and German sign language A woman, Lara, from being a child has had to act as a go-between for her parents who are both deaf and speaking impaired. The film shows her as child and as adult. As a child she is committed to her parents and misses out on her schooling through putting their needs first. Growing up she develops an interest in music and the clarinet The story then jumps to 10 years ahead when Lara is eighteen . She is good enough on the clarinet to be considering studying at a conservatory. Her father is opposed but her mother persuades him to let her spend the summer with her aunt in Berlin where she can prepare for the entrance exam. Lara also falls in love with a teacher of the deaf. Then on top of her struggle between home commitments and her own ambitions things take a turn for the worse. The strength of Lara's commitment is highlighted by the fact she has a younger sister but the sister doesn't want to be the translator for her parents. Though this is a German film the father is played by a deaf American actor, her mother by a deaf French actor and when you think about it, without language there is no barrier to this mobility. Though I don't know how much each country's sign language differs. Lara, the child, is played by Tatjana Trieb, as a woman by Sylvie Testud in a change which is virtually seamless.

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