A LIFE WITHOUT WORDS
Adam Isenberg | Nicaragua, Turkey 2011 | 71 Min. | OmeU
What would life be like without language? For too many deaf individuals raised in rural outposts, access to a sign-language community is denied and they are condemned to a life without words. Such injustice deserves our attention and is examined with care in this haunting, yet beautiful, story of two deaf siblings and their family on a northern Nicaragua farm. When Tomasa visits Dulce María and Francisco, the two begin their awakening to language; their resistance is clear, but so is their marvel at their teacher and the learning process. As we enter their isolated world, uncomfortable questions about education, psychology, language, ethics, and class arise. This film, however, avoids hard and fast answers, and instead is a quiet exploration of the challenging questions it poses.
