...And Your Name Is Jonah

Thinking back on this movie, I loved Sally Struthers' performance as the "champion" mother. She tries her best to know and understand deafness. I felt a tug at my heart, when Jonah is cruelly tied up on a table and looks at her pitifully. Struthers is the strong parent and only wants to see him fairly treated.She tries everything to study and help her son grow.In his silent world of deafness, Jonah befriends a fellow who helps him break out of the shell and deal with life. He discovers Sign Language, and is set free from barriers that push him away from family.The saddest scene was when Grandpa collapses and dies right in front of Jonah. This film was moving and I love it.

Made at a time when the handicapped were much less understood this is a fine examination of one child and family's struggle out of misdiagnosis.

Sally Struthers much better known for her comedic work is excellent as the mother lost in a maze of frustration of how to help her deaf child find his place in a hearing world after three years of incorrect institutionalization.

Some of the methods she pursues are arcane but they provide a snapshot of what treatment procedures were at the dawn of the 80's. Both entertaining and informative with many fine performances and a profoundly moving last half hour.

I saw this movie in the 70's and I was but a child then and remember this movie almost word for word, scene by scene. That is how much this movie truly touched my heart. I am looking for a copy of this movie and ask that anyone with information on where I can find one please e-mail me. I fear this movie has been shelved for life and that would be such a waste. I have an 11 year old son and wish very much for him to view this masterpiece of a movie. I feel a movie like this can teach him a lot in terms of life and how to be thankful for all the haves rather than the have no ts. This movie should be shown in every classroom, in every school around the world.

Sincerely, Maria Horton

I remember seeing this as a 9 year old kid and to this day the movie hasn't left me. Some of the scenes I remember are when Jonah's Grandpa died working at his produce stand, Jonah taking his brother's Spider man doll and putting him in the oven (he was totally afraid of Spider Man) and Jonah taking a spill on his bike when a car almost hit him. I do remember the deaf man helping out and Jonah giving him the positive reinforcement as he learned more and more sign of the language.

I, too, remember poor Jonah being tied up to the table while Sally Struther's watched helplessly at him. It made my cry then, and just thinking about it now makes my eyes water. Still, it's not to be meant as a depressing movie but a testament of courage and hope. A must have and I hope it gets a DVD release soon.

A lot of prejudice involved, scenes that translate the pain of so many people who went through it, unbelievable and abominable ... Poor production, but the quality becomes insignificant given the message it transmits, the history of people with disabilities in the last century, in a period not so so distant, and unfortunately very contemporary ... Beautiful and sad...