The film “CODA” has such a plot.
Parents always make up the bed and the sound of physical collision. Once the daughter who was invited by a friend to be a guest at home found that her daughter was very embarrassed.
It turns out that the parents are born deaf and mute, and they objectively lack the concept of the quiet and noisy of the world.
This plot comes from today’s Douban movie “CODA” with a score of 8.6 and IMDb, which is a rare high score of 8.2.
After watching it, I believe that “CODA” is the best movie in August, and I think it is one of the ten best movies of the year.
Even Apple TV bought it for a record price of 25 million US dollars-“CODA”.
The so-called American independent films can be most simply understood as those “low-cost, good stories, and edge-oriented” films.
Because with little money and unable to pile up special effects and big-name actors, if there is no good story, there is no way out.
The American Sundance Film Festival held at the end of January every year can be described as a gilded paradise for independent films.
There are many phenomenal masterpieces that have emerged from Sundance in recent years, including “Lady Bird” and “Call Me by Your Name”.
I also unearthed Damien Chazelle, the director of “La La Land”, with his work.
Of course, the most worth mentioning is the first Sundance Film Festival held in 1985. The best film was awarded to the Coen brothers who were also fledgling at the time and became famous in the future. “Blood Simple” .
And this year Sundance “CODA” can be said to shine, becoming the first film in Sundance history to win all the highest awards in the American drama unit.
A new work by the beautiful director Sian Heder, an inspirational work that very much represents the spirit and charm of American independent films.
The story focuses on Ruby, the only hearing high school girl in a deaf-mute family.
A family of four depends on fishing for their livelihoods. Their lives are not easy, but they are also happy.
As the only sound Ruby in the family of four, she had to go fishing with her father and brother and manage the family’s fishery business.
For this reason, she was ridiculed at school and suppressed her dream of singing.
But at the same time, when she gets busy at sea, she can boldly sing to the sea in front of the deaf and mute father and brother. This is her favorite thing to do.
Therefore, she who loves singing herself, when she saw the male god sign up for the campus choir, she took the first step and the most critical step to realize her dream.
In the choir, the teacher discovered Ruby’s talent and decided to train her for an interview at Berkeley University.
And he was bound to his family for a lifetime, and never thought that he could go to college.
Because her trajectory has long been taken for granted, she is the “lucky” Ruby, the lucky one among the deaf and mute, so she must bear the responsibility of protecting this family.
The film allows us to follow this special family of four, from the growth of Ruby into the world of the deaf or the disadvantaged.
For example, in their daughter’s presentation performance, they couldn’t hear the music, but in order not to appear out of place, they still learned to make the wrong shots.
At home, the camera often looks at the conversation of the family, which is silent.
The silence is weird for normal people, but it is so safe for them.
You can see them dancing and dancing most of the time, with exaggerated expressions and extreme movements.
A family of four made jokes and jokes in the small world of the family, humorously mocking their own disability.
But outside, we have to face ubiquitous exclusion, discrimination, and speculation.
They work hard to make themselves appear less laborious in the world of normal people, but because of their disabilities, they are as vulnerable, sensitive and insecure as a young child.
In this sense, the existence of Ruby is like a microcosm of a softer external world, and they rely on Ruby.
So Ruby’s love gradually gave this family a sense of crisis, after all, life without Ruby is hard to imagine.
The reality keeps telling them that without interpretation, it is simply difficult for deaf-mute people to ask for life.
This is the biggest contradiction in the whole movie. A family that is tightly intertwined, ironically, is constantly injuring because of their love and dependence on each other.
When family affection becomes a burden, when the family in the name of love becomes a stumbling block to ourselves, how should we deal with ourselves?
How should we face the duality of love?
The conflict between dreams and reality, the unavoidable communication barriers between deaf-mute parents and able-bodied children, and the growing inferiority and bravery are all presented here…
In fact, American independent films have a lightness, and they are used to handling difficult situations, helpless and funny.
One day after school, Ruby accompanied the deaf-mute parents to see the doctor. The cause was that his father felt red, swollen and itchy in his lower body, and then his mother also developed mild symptoms.
The father used sign language to describe the vivid colors, Ruby blushed to the root of his neck, and he was embarrassed to interpret with the doctor.
And the doctor with both professional and comprehension made the diagnosis.
What’s even more painful is that Ruby tampered with the doctor’s order, because the parents had difficulty controlling the noise caused by the intercourse, he told the parents that they could never have intercourse anymore.
While the parents looked at the doctor seriously, Ruby had to report the truth for two weeks, while the parents “unanimously” said that it could not be done.
It is worth mentioning that Marlee Matlin, the actor of his mother, was awarded the Oscar for her performance as a deaf and dumb person in “Children of a Lesser God”.
Years later, the opportunity to play in his true colors has ushered again, which is very emotional.
In addition, Marius de Vries, the music director of “La La Land” was also invited, which made the film very suitable for the choice of soundtrack and songs.
The film seems to have chosen a very special perspective of the deaf-mute, but what it explores is the close relationship represented by the family.
It reveals the truth of the so-called family bondage-we cannot do without and must leave, selfishly taking it from the family, and at the same time let it consume our energy.
But the essence of the family is not binding, nor equivalent demand and calculation, but love, which is the courage that requires letting go but closer.
Just like in the film, Ruby sang while typing sign language to the family members in the audience.
She sang “both sides now” by the legendary Canadian female singer and artist Joni Mitchell.
The whole film tells us about love and fulfillment.
The entanglement and predicament haunt this family, and every member has an unspeakable taste in his heart.
But this film is presented in a fresh but unsensational way, which is undoubtedly very pleasing.
No wonder Apple TV bought it for $25 million without blinking.
