one of the most impactful portrayals of disadvantage, self-discovery and autonomy I have ever seen. i loved watching this at the Broadway Cinematheque because it felt like the audience could also fully appreciate the beauty of it. maybe it’s just Hong Kong theatre etiquette, but this was the first time an entire audience has sat through the credits at the end of the movie with me. the vibes were so peak i’m going to miss this so much 😭***
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I'd rather swim with the fishesthis line near the beginning hurt me so bad. i wanted a movie to cry to but i did NOT expect tears to start forming not even a quarter in.
I know your voicesagain, same character, same simplicity, same emotional pain. he says this after being asked what sound he would want to hear if, all of a sudden, he had the ability to, and gets questioned as to why he wasn’t curious about his friends’ voices.
he completely shuts the idea down that sign language does not give each person their own voice and “Feel” by claiming that they DO have voices in the way they sign. that hit so hard for me.
If I can choose, I choose tranquility > I CRIED (AGAIN).
one of the things they do best in this movie is sophie’s character development. you feel fully immersed in her journey as a hearing-impaired person, going from feeling like she has to work twice as hard to be “normal” only to still feel like an outcast from her peers and her job. her gradual shift in attitude, from internal shame about being deaf and thinking signing ostracises deaf people to realising how expressive and lively she feels when she finally learns sign language, was so incredibly well done.
i saw her go from being timid and having no personality, to being empowered and finding a new sense of purpose and community. her shame and doubt moves from being an internal struggle to being caused by systemic, and therefore external, flaws that she can finally see is an injustice—that she wasn’t born bad but born into a bad world.
For the first time in my life I finally feel like I’ve been able to speak despite not speaking a word. this was catharsis, both for me and for her.
I choose self-pridethis was dialogue signed during the credits scene and it was a beautiful summary of the entire movie. and it summarises why i loved it so much.
