Beyond Silence is a 1996 German film directed by Caroline Link. Lara's parents are deaf and she is responsible for interpreting and helping them interact with the hearing world. On Christmas Day, her aunt Clarissa, a music-lover, gives her a clarinet, and Lara begins to discover the world of music, which is completely unknown to her parents. She becomes a talented clarinetist, and, when she is 18 years old, she wants to enroll at the Berlin conservatoire. Her desire to attend the conservatoire conflicts with her father’s dependence on her and his grief after his wife's death in an... accident. The movie does a great job of portraying the experiences of a hearing child of deaf parents, compared to the more frequent portrayal of stories with parents whose child turns out to be deaf. Set in a small town, the film also shows the difficulties Lara's parents have in communicating with anyone else as no one else signs, and being in a small town, they cannot find a good interpreter. It's an interesting parallel to draw with children of immigrants who often have to serve as interpreters for their parents, even in serious situations .
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| Release date: | 1996 |
| Directed by: | Caroline Link |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 112 Minutes |