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Film: Beyond Silence
Release date: 6th September 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 109 mins
Director: Caroline Link
Starring: Sylvie Testud, Howie Seago, Tatjana Trieb, Emmanuelle Laborit, Sibylle Canonica
Genre: Drama
Studio: Arrow
Format: DVD
Country: Germany
Beyond Silence is a coming of age drama with a twist. As well as the usual teenage angst and dysfunctional family members, here director Caroline Link throws a curve-ball into the fray – two of the main characters are deaf and as a result much of the dialogue is delivered in sign language. The film is little-known despite being nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar – over a decade later does the movie deserve to find a bigger audience on DVD?
Lara Bischoff (Tatjana Trieb) is the 8-year-old daughter of Martin (Howie Seago) and Kai (Emmanuelle Laborit), both of whom are deaf-mute. Mature beyond her years, Lara acts as her parents’ ears, and facilitates their communication with the outside world. Acting as their gateway to wider society, she regularly forsakes her own education to assist them until her feisty aunt Clarissa (Sybille Canonica) gives her a clarinet for Christmas. A longstanding family feud ensures that Martin soon becomes jealous of the burgeoning relationship between his sister and daughter, and this is exacerbated by the fact that the gift of music which Clarissa has given Lara is one in which he cannot participate and is unable to understand.
Ten years on, Lara is an accomplished musician, and, with encouragement from Clarissa, looks set to audition for a prestigious music school in Berlin. Living with her bohemian aunt, Lara falls in love with a teacher of deaf children as she prepares for her entrance exam. But just as the future seems to be falling into place for Lara, a tragedy back home threatens to derail her plans…
All too often films which attempt to tackle ‘issues’ such as those in Beyond Silence over-emphasise those issues. Here, that kind of clumsiness is adeptly avoided. No explanation or back-story is given to explain how Lara’s parents came to become so dependent on their young daughter, and none is required. That the director sees fit to credit the audience with the ability to read between the lines enables the film to explore the effects of the situation the characters find themselves, rather than how the situation came about. Characters are rounded and complex from the start and this helps to instantly draw the audience into their world.
The narrative works on a number of levels, and it’s perfectly possible to interpret the action in a number of ways. For some, the emphasis will be on the deafness which shapes the movie, for others the effects of jealousy will be the driving force. Sibling rivalry and the redemptive power of music or father/daughter bonds are also evident themes. It’s a multi-layered story which requires excellent acting performances and gets them.
Tatjana Trieb, as the young Lara, really shines. Her role is especially difficult as many of the words she speaks are not those of a child, but those of her parents. In a stylistic device, Lara’s mother and father’s words are often not subtitled – this leaves Lara to interpret those words for the audience. Approaching the dialogue in this way strengthens the sense that communication is difficult for the deaf characters, as well as giving a great insight into the dual role which Lara plays as both a growing child and a care-provider.
Beyond Silence contains some wonderfully understated scenes. A beautifully tender moment between Martin and Kai sees them having a signed conversation in bed. Almost silent, the two figures are wrapped around each other and bathed in blue light, with Martin’s arm coiled around his wife. He signs using this hand, forming the words in front of his wife’s eyes whilst never breaking their embrace.
Similarly, the young Lara is transformed seamlessly into a young woman during a clarinet recital. The transition takes place almost unnoticed thanks to some clever direction and remains effective thanks to the excellent performance of Sylvie Testud as the older Lara. The two young actresses must have worked together extensively, as their mannerisms, and even their facial expressions are a perfect match. The film would not work nearly so well but for the way the two actresses dovetail, meaning that the audience concentrates solely on the character rather than the actress playing her.
There are occasional bum notes in this most musical of films. The love affair between Lara and Tom (Hansa Czypionka) almost seems to happen too quickly, and a scene in which they dance to Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ seems designed to inject some fun into proceedings, but is a bad fit for this kind of movie – it would be better suited to an out-and-out musical than a film about a musician. There’s also something slightly wooden about the performance of Howie Seago as Martin – occasionally his flashes of temper seemed to come from nowhere. The thawing of the character, however, does lead to more warmth in the portrayal.
Sadly, one of the great frustrations of a film which concentrates so intently on the problems of communication is that much of the subtitling is unreadable. With white captions on light backgrounds many of the words are lost – and often at key times. It’s a frustrating flaw, and one which would be corrected with a little more care and attention.
The greatest praise that can be lavished upon Beyond Silence is that the issue of deafness is not one which weighs it down. The film could almost certainly be remade as a more regular domestic drama – although it wouldn’t be nearly so interesting – thanks to the depth of the characters, stellar performances from Trieb and Testud, and its universal themes. It’s a little known gem, and well worthy of your time. RW
Film: La Vie En Rose
Release date: 13th October 2008
Certificate: 12
Running time: 135 mins
Director: Olivier Dahan
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean-Paul Rouve
Genre: Biography/Drama
Studio: Icon
Format: DVD
Country: France/UK/Czech Republic
A film that earned foreign cinema its first (eagerly awaited) Oscar win for a performance since Sophia Loren in La Ciociara (1961), La Vie En Rose has always been something of a talking point amongst fans of French cinema. A difficult subject to tackle, and one that is close to France’s hearts.
A rags-to-riches biopic about the turbulent life of Edith Piaf (Marion Cotillard), the film possesses a non-linear narrative in which we, the audience, experience Piaf’s life through her memories. The majority of these are primarily focused upon her lonely childhood (young Edith played by Pauline Burlet), in which she is abandoned by her busking mother and her soldier-turned-acrobat father who leaves the young girl in the care of his mother - she just so happens to own a brothel.
Whilst this isn’t the perfect place to raise a child, Edith is adopted by the courtesans, particularly Titine (Emmanuelle Seigner), who dotes upon her as if they really were mother and child. However, at possibly the most stable time of her life, Edith and her new extended family are torn apart in one of the most heart wrenching scenes of the film.
Now helping her father within the exciting atmosphere of the circus, Edith’s life is altered further as the pair are left homeless. A blessing in disguise, this is the vital catalyst of the film in which a young Edith soon realises the power of her voice.
Years later, at the age of 18, and accompanied by new friend, Simone, Piaf is still singing in the streets for money, leading to a chance encounter with club owner Louis Leplee that alters the course of her life forever…
Dahan’s film is layered with subtle parallels throughout, as Edith grows into someone eerily similar to the people who have abandoned her on more than one occasion. The fact that her parents are both themselves performers (or “artistes,” as her mother prefers to be called) only increases the comparisons further. When Edith finally gains the professional success she craves, we’re left to wonder whether her personality will evolve positively or descend within the egotism so often portrayed in celebrity biopics. In a way, her success is her own brand of revenge against those who have wronged her as well; a sort of karma.
Edith, at heart, is a good person but Dahan is just as revealing about Piaf’s flaws as he is her triumphs. Marion Cotillard’s acting is simply flawless throughout, with her Academy Award win being well-earned and deserved, whilst the supporting cast of Sylvie Testud as Simone and Emmanuelle Seigner playing Titine form the strong pillars alongside the lead role.
With the soundtrack consisting of Piaf’s own original recordings (with only a couple of minor exceptions to portray the singer’s frailty), the film is sure to please die-hard fans as well as gaining fresh ears in the process. With so many biographical films predominantly targeting clued-in listeners, it is refreshing to see that Dahan hasn’t neglected to remember that mainstream audiences outside of France may not have directly heard of Piaf herself, but will no doubt know her most famous hit, ‘Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien’ (‘No Regrets’).
Whilst La Vie En Rose is largely a positive viewing experience, the moving back and fourth between time periods can make the film, at times, hard to follow, with the scenes concerning Piaf’s daughter seemingly cut and pasted in by the director towards the end.
It becomes impossible to fathom that one person has lived through and experienced such hardship and troubles – had this been pure fiction, it would have seemed hyperbolic and unbelievable. The very fact that Piaf’s life, and the woman herself was so mercurial makes the film even more inspiring, considering the obstacles she overcame and her ever present love of life until the end. Edith Piaf was truly a woman who had no regrets.
Abandonment, poverty, stardom and romance are explored alongside loss and loneliness throughout as the film is littered with moments of poignancy, sadness and joy that will have you laughing one moment and reaching for the tissues the next. With its stunning soundtrack and strong cast, La Vie En Rose is a film that should and will never go by unnoticed. SRI
Film: Lourdes
Release date: 26th March 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 97 mins
Director: Jessica Hausner
Starring: Sylvie Testud, Lea Seydoux, Bruno Todeschini, Elina Lowensohn
Genre: Drama
Studio: Artificial Eye
Format: Cinema
Country: France
Sometimes calling a film strange, mysterious or puzzling is a high compliment – and this is such a case. It’s haunting, but always engaging, and will leave you wondering what it all means for many a week.
Testud plays Christine, wheelchair-bound as a multiple sclerosis sufferer, who is on a visit to Lourdes. She is bright and slightly cynical, and we learn that this is the latest in a series of visits around Europe to places of pilgrimage. Christine doesn’t believe in miracles, but goes through the routine of visiting the holy sights, being blessed with the water and bathing in the pools, but with the expression of resignation rather than hope.
Her attitude changes when she spies Kuno (Todeschini), a handsome member of the Order of Malta (who help the disabled), and they strike up a friendship. The problem is he seems rather more interested in Christine’s carer Maria (Seydoux), who lacks intelligence but has a body and face absolutely bursting with health and vitality. Christine’s face is as fragile and pale as her poor, broken frame.
Against all the odds, Christine rises out of her wheelchair. Is it a miracle? The religious folk seem convinced, the medical team less so – but it certainly gets Kuno’s attention. It also creates a huge amount of resentment – after all, some of the visitors have visited Lourdes for years with no joy, while she is on her first visit and doesn’t even believe in it all…
At its heart, Lourdes is a film about the importance of belief, over cynicism. Lourdes is portrayed as a horrendous Disneyland but with longer queues, and the Order of Malta staff are more interested in wine and playing cards than in looking after the disabled. Yet despite all of that, Christine does appear to go through a change, brought on by – well, what? Longing? Desire? Belief?
There’s a particularly painful moment when a mentally ill girl appears healed, only for it to become the cruellest of illusions, and the look on her mother’s face is almost unbearable.
Despite tackling such profound subjects, Lourdes is a consistently witty film, with a wry sense of humour, and one outright funny joke – told by a vicar, no less. But it’s the performance of Testud as the brittle Christine which ultimately makes this so intriguing. Her body may be broken but her face tells a whole lifetime’s worth of stories.
A remarkable portrayal of a character who never attracts pity or sentimentality. A puzzle, but one you’ll enjoy trying to solve. MM
