Johann
01-13-2004, 03:57 PM
I now know what all the hoopla is about Nicolas Philibert.
Two amazing documentaries were screened @ the PC last night.
Every Little Thing is a film record of the efforts of a mental asylum in the Loire Valley France to stage a production of "Operetta".
Philibert is indeed a genius at "fly on the wall". His editing is so good-- the cuts to the foliage of trees interspersed with shots of the exterior of the asylum and patients was enough for me to be very happy in my theatre seat.
The patients become endearing- the trials of learning lines and singing songs make you fully aware of the troubles of mental illness.
I was won over with this doc.
In the Land of the Deaf is a much-needed film on the lives of deaf people. There are 120 million people with hearing problems in the world, and this doc goes to great lengths to set a few things straight about life with no sound.
The deaf are often thought to be mentally ill. They're not. We hear stories in this doc about how "the hearing" try to "fix" the deaf person's condition. Hearing aids, deaf schools, downplaying sign language (most deaf people hate the fact that they must communicate with non-deaf people. Signing is so much easier and arguably more creative- Philibert makes us aware of the parallels between cinema and sign language)
I particularly like a young man's gripe about hearing aids: "The first time I used it, the noise was so loud! Doors slamming, etc. I would rather be deaf- enjoying my silence".
I learned a lot about deaf people and their condition. Check it out.
Two amazing documentaries were screened @ the PC last night.
Every Little Thing is a film record of the efforts of a mental asylum in the Loire Valley France to stage a production of "Operetta".
Philibert is indeed a genius at "fly on the wall". His editing is so good-- the cuts to the foliage of trees interspersed with shots of the exterior of the asylum and patients was enough for me to be very happy in my theatre seat.
The patients become endearing- the trials of learning lines and singing songs make you fully aware of the troubles of mental illness.
I was won over with this doc.
In the Land of the Deaf is a much-needed film on the lives of deaf people. There are 120 million people with hearing problems in the world, and this doc goes to great lengths to set a few things straight about life with no sound.
The deaf are often thought to be mentally ill. They're not. We hear stories in this doc about how "the hearing" try to "fix" the deaf person's condition. Hearing aids, deaf schools, downplaying sign language (most deaf people hate the fact that they must communicate with non-deaf people. Signing is so much easier and arguably more creative- Philibert makes us aware of the parallels between cinema and sign language)
I particularly like a young man's gripe about hearing aids: "The first time I used it, the noise was so loud! Doors slamming, etc. I would rather be deaf- enjoying my silence".
I learned a lot about deaf people and their condition. Check it out.