Beyond Silence (1996 film)

Beyond Silence (German: Jenseits der Stille) is a 1996 German film directed by Caroline Link. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards.^[1]

Plot

The film tells the story of Lara, who grows up as the daughter of deaf parents. Lara herself is hearing and is fluent in sign language. Even as a young child, she serves as an interpreter for her parents in many situations. For example, she interprets at a credit negotiation at the bank, although not always completely truthfully.

In Christmas, Lara receives a clarinet from her Aunt Clarissa, an enthusiastic musician. Lara discovers the world of music, where her parents cannot follow her. In the years that follow, Lara is discovered to be a talented clarinet player.

After Lara's mother Kai is killed in a bike accident, Lara's father Martin feels abandoned. When the 18-year-old Lara wants to study at a music conservatory in Berlin, the family seems to break apart. The ending seems to reconcile it all: Lara's father tries to understand the love of music that his daughter feels, and the film comes to a careful reunion between Martin and Lara.

Cast

• Sylvie Testud - Lara
• Tatjana Trieb - Lara als Kind (Lara as Child)
• Howie Seago - Martin
• Emmanuelle Laborit - Kai
• Sibylle Canonica - Clarissa
• Matthias Habich - Gregor (Clarissa's husband)
• Alexandra Bolz - Marie
• Hansa Czypionka - Tom
• Doris Schade - Lilli
• Horst Sachtleben - Robert
• Hubert Mulzer - Herr Gärtner
• Birge Schade - Fräulein Mertens
• Stephan Kampwirth - Bankbeamter

Reviews

• "A successful film debut of a graduate of the Munich Film Academy. The film is a sensible presentation of the problem of the handicapped as well as the universal theme of the self discovery of a young woman and the plea for understanding and openness about seemingly disproportionate experiences." (film-dienst 25/1996)
• "Whoever would like to find out how loud the snow is and how the sounds of a clarinet can enchant people, should not allow themselves to miss this film: a German production which takes up extraordinary themes across the relationship-comedy and tells the story about saying goodbye to one's childhood with gentle humor and an idiosyncratic aesthetic." (Fischer Film Almanach, 1997)
• "A film that allows silence to become music and has found strength in the balance between laughing and crying, happiness and pain. "Jenseits der Stille" is memorable among German productions, and excellently cast. (Dirk Jasper FilmLexikon)
• "Thanks to good casting for all roles and assured acting performances under its direction, this [film is] a successful journey into the world of the deaf, with all its problems of social integration and family conflict." (FBW Langfilme)

Accolades

See also

• List of submissions to the 70th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of German submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

Book

• Caroline Link: Jenseits der Stille, Aufbau, 2001, ISBN 3-7466-1453-8 (Novel)

External links

• Ungewöhnliche Dreharbeiten - Bayerischer Rundfunk
• Filmeintrag auf omdb.org with underground information
• Beyond Silence at the Internet Movie Database