This movie gets off to a slow start. In fact, I was tempted to turn it off after the first half hour, but I decided to persevere and I'm quite pleased I did. After its slow beginning, this movie settles into being an intriguing mystery and actually becomes quite charming. Now, it's not the kind of mystery where people's lives are in danger or someone has been murdered. It's a more gentle mystery. It has to do with a boy looking for the father he never knew and the lives of two people two people of similar ages but two generations apart and how they come together.
The interesting twist this movie takes is that both these characters are deaf. The story of the girl, who grows up in the earlier part of the twentieth century, is told entirely without sound - in other words, from her point of view (or hearing). The boy, who lives in the late twentieth century, is only recently deaf, so we get to hear all the sounds that he can't. It's an interesting approach, and I'm not 100 percent sure it actually makes for riveting viewing. The girl's story is a bit perplexing until the two stories start to come together and more is revealed. Actually, I got to the end of the movie and realized that the girl's story wasn't really relevant to the main story line - the boy's search for his dad. It could have been excluded and the movie would not have suffered other than only being about an hour long... and we can't have that!
Anyway, to summarize, despite its plodding start, I enjoyed this movie. I enjoyed it sufficiently that I will watch it again in a few weeks, because I think it is one of those movies that warrant a second viewing. I am sure I will discover nuances and throw-away plot points that I missed the first time through but which will be obvious second time. So, would I recommend this movie? Yes I would, but with the caveat that you need to show some perseverance at the start.
The interesting twist this movie takes is that both these characters are deaf. The story of the girl, who grows up in the earlier part of the twentieth century, is told entirely without sound - in other words, from her point of view (or hearing). The boy, who lives in the late twentieth century, is only recently deaf, so we get to hear all the sounds that he can't. It's an interesting approach, and I'm not 100 percent sure it actually makes for riveting viewing. The girl's story is a bit perplexing until the two stories start to come together and more is revealed. Actually, I got to the end of the movie and realized that the girl's story wasn't really relevant to the main story line - the boy's search for his dad. It could have been excluded and the movie would not have suffered other than only being about an hour long... and we can't have that!
Anyway, to summarize, despite its plodding start, I enjoyed this movie. I enjoyed it sufficiently that I will watch it again in a few weeks, because I think it is one of those movies that warrant a second viewing. I am sure I will discover nuances and throw-away plot points that I missed the first time through but which will be obvious second time. So, would I recommend this movie? Yes I would, but with the caveat that you need to show some perseverance at the start.