Having coincidentally seen the classic and gorgeously filmed: 'Sur Mes Levres' the day before, I was struck by both the similar feel but also the completely different genre and approach in the recently acclaimed: 'La Famille Belier'.
'Sur Mes Levres' is a thoroughly enjoyable story about an odd couple who fall in love and discover each other's strengths and weaknesses through a real and pragmatic relationship, and is a beautiful visually artistic achievement in terms of the play of shadows and light on screen as well as gorgeous softly filmed scenes with a varying degree of sound and 'non sound' to portray deafness and it's emotional sensations, consequences and lived experiences.
It does feel similar at times to 'La Famille Belier because of the theme of deafness and what goes hand in hand with it. But whereas 'Sure Mes Levres' works with cinematic techniques and the dynamics of a male female relationship of boundaries and trust, 'La Famille Belier' starts from the view point of a coming of age story of a lively, passionate, talented and committed 16 year old girl going into womanhood and discovering the pains and joys of disconnecting with her immediate deaf family to pursue her vocation as a singer.
The latter film reverses the other story in a sense because it does not start with an adapted deaf woman like 'Read my Lips' does, but rather focuses on a hearing younger woman growing up among her deaf closest and dearest and coping with the roller coaster of emotions that go together with being different and having the advantages of a hearing person but also the responsibilities that come with it.
Our 16 year old protagonist has to make hard choices and try to balance her life in order to both keep her family and herself happy at the same time.
As a theme this may seem similar to many coming of age stories but of course the plot here is mainly about the conflicts between hearing and non hearing and how they differ or try to meet half way and encompass the same sounds albeit interpreting them differently and through different means depending on how we listen or we manage to hear.
Do we hear speech and music through our ears, our eyes or our touch and what does this actually entail in terms of what we hear? How does this affect our understanding of emotions and situations?
The tale is told on two levels: firstly from the point of view of social differences between rural citizens vs city slickers, with the deaf family representing the hard working farmers striving for the benefit of their community against the city expansion plans of politicians. Secondly, and more importantly, the story unfolds around the dynamics of the family itself with the hearing daughter coping and balancing her strong but precarious relationship with her deaf family.
This is not a film about special effects or fancy make up or stunts and digital inventions or tricky camera work and clever editing. It is not a film about high flying action or even complex plot twists.
It unfolds easily and predictably through strong character actors and good dialogue as well as a beautiful unwinding of relationships.
The scenery and cinematic settings are pretty enough but what is compelling is the loveliness of the sounds, the affection projected through the music, and the actual voices both heard and unheard, as well as the emotions felt and shared by the excellent actors.
Both funny and sad at the same time, but always highly expressive and drawing tears from women and men alike, it would be very difficult to see this film and not be moved by the combination of the story and the performances.
An excellent piece of visual literature as well as a social exposition of the real problems facing the non hearing but also the issues faced by the hearing in a deaf environment.
'Signing' or sign language is in my opinion not only an important bridge for communication but also an artistic expression of beauty; it is in itself a beautifully crafted language of hands and body moving in such a way as to give human emotions alluring intensity and passion.
'Signing' is a voice in itself as highly piercing to the soul as a soprano's high notes are to the ears.
'Sur Mes Levres' is a thoroughly enjoyable story about an odd couple who fall in love and discover each other's strengths and weaknesses through a real and pragmatic relationship, and is a beautiful visually artistic achievement in terms of the play of shadows and light on screen as well as gorgeous softly filmed scenes with a varying degree of sound and 'non sound' to portray deafness and it's emotional sensations, consequences and lived experiences.
It does feel similar at times to 'La Famille Belier because of the theme of deafness and what goes hand in hand with it. But whereas 'Sure Mes Levres' works with cinematic techniques and the dynamics of a male female relationship of boundaries and trust, 'La Famille Belier' starts from the view point of a coming of age story of a lively, passionate, talented and committed 16 year old girl going into womanhood and discovering the pains and joys of disconnecting with her immediate deaf family to pursue her vocation as a singer.
The latter film reverses the other story in a sense because it does not start with an adapted deaf woman like 'Read my Lips' does, but rather focuses on a hearing younger woman growing up among her deaf closest and dearest and coping with the roller coaster of emotions that go together with being different and having the advantages of a hearing person but also the responsibilities that come with it.
Our 16 year old protagonist has to make hard choices and try to balance her life in order to both keep her family and herself happy at the same time.
As a theme this may seem similar to many coming of age stories but of course the plot here is mainly about the conflicts between hearing and non hearing and how they differ or try to meet half way and encompass the same sounds albeit interpreting them differently and through different means depending on how we listen or we manage to hear.
Do we hear speech and music through our ears, our eyes or our touch and what does this actually entail in terms of what we hear? How does this affect our understanding of emotions and situations?
The tale is told on two levels: firstly from the point of view of social differences between rural citizens vs city slickers, with the deaf family representing the hard working farmers striving for the benefit of their community against the city expansion plans of politicians. Secondly, and more importantly, the story unfolds around the dynamics of the family itself with the hearing daughter coping and balancing her strong but precarious relationship with her deaf family.
This is not a film about special effects or fancy make up or stunts and digital inventions or tricky camera work and clever editing. It is not a film about high flying action or even complex plot twists.
It unfolds easily and predictably through strong character actors and good dialogue as well as a beautiful unwinding of relationships.
The scenery and cinematic settings are pretty enough but what is compelling is the loveliness of the sounds, the affection projected through the music, and the actual voices both heard and unheard, as well as the emotions felt and shared by the excellent actors.
Both funny and sad at the same time, but always highly expressive and drawing tears from women and men alike, it would be very difficult to see this film and not be moved by the combination of the story and the performances.
An excellent piece of visual literature as well as a social exposition of the real problems facing the non hearing but also the issues faced by the hearing in a deaf environment.
'Signing' or sign language is in my opinion not only an important bridge for communication but also an artistic expression of beauty; it is in itself a beautifully crafted language of hands and body moving in such a way as to give human emotions alluring intensity and passion.
'Signing' is a voice in itself as highly piercing to the soul as a soprano's high notes are to the ears.
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