Cipher in the Snow

A wonderful, heartbreaking movie with a powerful lesson, how little we sometimes realize as parents, teachers, and leaders , the effect our words have on children.. "Cliff, what are you day-dreaming about today?" Our Father in Heaven never writes off any of his children, and yet we often label them as "dumb" or "slow learner" and they carry this with them.. Highly recommended for all age groups.. He started off such a happy little boy with a love for the beautiful, simple things in life (the frogs, the budding flower) that we take for granted, and his step father failed miserably to see the blessings of such an example, and so sad that mothers put up with such men who would mistreat their children so terribly..

This penetrating short film was screened at my middle-school in the mid-70s, and to this day it continues to cross my mind. Allegedly inspired by a true event, the film denotes a lonely, withdrawn boy ridiculed by schoolmates, invisible to teachers, and mistreated at home. A complete absence of love and intermutuality gradually reduces him to "a cipher"(meaning, literally, "zero"). One early morning before school, he is finally granted a single tender mercy...he falls dead on a snowbank, released at last from his quiet suffering.

I consider this film an integral part of my upbringing. It planted a seed in my young mind, and served to pilot my conscious efforts toward being a good person, and to step forward when others are being unjustly or inhumanely treated. In the many years which have passed since I saw it, I suspect CIPHER has become stylistically dated. That said, I feel it should be remade generationally, so as to update its appeal with the ever-changing mindset of youth. The relevance of this story is eternal, and the importance of human empathy and the awareness that everyone matters can never be given too much reenforcement.

Kudos to the LDS church for funding this silent scream. Eight well-deserved stars for the film, and a zillion stars for the urgency of its purpose.

30 years ago, my friends and I walked into a high school classroom laughing and joking around like we always did.

We weren't laughing when we walked out.

"Cipher In The Snow" is a film that strikes an almost universal chord among those who have been fortunate enough to see it; a tremendous, penetrating sadness in realizing that people around us are sometimes abused or neglected or ignored, and we, with the best intentions in the world, don't even notice. For younger adolescents, the empathy for the character reference in the title is positively overwhelming.

The film is also very well known as a film almost everyone who ever sees it remembers, although they can't remember its title. Very highly recommended.

A schoolboy sits by himself on the bus. He gets up, and moves to the front. He asks the driver to let him off. When the puzzled man does so, the boy steps into the snow on the ground by the road and collapses. He is dead.

Most of the movies made for schools are mildly ridiculous in their insipidity. This is not one of them. Perhaps that's because it's not solely directed at the students, whom film makers seem to think are stupid people. Instead it's aimed at the teachers who puzzled, investigate what happened, and come to no clear answer, except that to survive, people need more than food, shelter, and clothes. They need to know that some one cares.

I saw this movie in Jr High I think was in 1977. It effected me very much, I wanted to cry when I watched it. God knows there are many 'ciphers' out there that even the slightest outreach would change their lives. If anyone knows a way to get a copy of this film I would sure be interested in buying a copy. In some ways back then I identified with the boy in the movie at the time. He was depressed and eventually went into total despair and literally willed himself to death. I believe the movie tried to portray how easily preventable this happening was. I think everyone should watch this movie. It shows how even the smallest initial clues can be picked up and the tragic event at the end of the movie can be prevented.