User reviews

I was lucky enough to get to see this movie in a German lesson in school. Basically right from the start I was caught up in it and knew, that this would be something different. The mood of the movie simply progressed with ease and gentleness, and at the same time hurled you into a world many never would have thought of. The world of a normal young girl, who has to go through an unusual dilemma, because both of her parents are deaf, and at the same time face the difficulties of life, experiencing her own true self. Finding herself turns out to be one of the real challenges in her life, because she has to separate herself from her parents and walk down her own path, without turning her back on them. She wants to be a musician, an idea which her father does not understand or support. Becoming a musician, despite the fact that her parents are deaf, gives a very clear and pure image, of how children tend to disobey their parents and create their own identity. The movie ends without really wrapping up every lose end, but it does not spoil it. Nonetheless it gives the movie the perfect ending, in which everything that really matters, works out. The idea of the movie and the very story has, as I have mentioned, a very deep and original plot, but this movies has more to it than this. Great acting (especially from the father), great music and is overall greatly directed and written. Good movie with many details. 7/10

As the child of a single parent who is deaf, Beyond Silence is, in most aspects, a very true portrait of how I grew up. Scenes such as going to the bank and talking to the teacher were my actual experiences and difficulties I have faced all the time. It was just so real I couldn't help getting emotional as the story went on. For those who live or work with deaf or hard-of-hearing people, this is a must see; for those who don't, you should definitely see it as well and cherish your good sense of hearing -- being able to communicate easily is not a gift for everyone as most people take for granted.

"Beyond Silence" is the story of a young girl who is a musical prodigy, but her parents have no appreciation for her talents because they are deaf. Immediately you can see how this brilliantly summarizes the plight of so many youngsters, across all generations, whose hopes and dreams fall on deaf ears. In that sense, this film applies to all of us regardless of whether we play music or grow up dealing with disabilities in the family. This story is universal and timeless.

Excellently acted all around (with the 2 deaf parents played by actors who are deaf in real life), I think the character who steals the show is the young girl Lara, age 7ish, played by Tatjana Trieb. She is intelligent and clever, often manipulating the situation to her benefit in a cheeky way (for example, acting as translator between her parents and her teachers but only translating what she wants them to know). In a subtle way, it sets the tone that our young protagonist is not a victim but rather a rebel who is willing to stand up for herself. Thus, even though the plot may seem like a frustrating ride, it's actually the opposite. The young girl is the one who's in control most of the time.

The story then jumps ahead several years with the role of Lara being assumed by Sylvie Testud, whom you may recognize from her role in "La Vie en Rose" 10 years after this. The young adult Lara is now living in Berlin and navigating her life away from her family, but there are complications. Enter the aunt, "Clarissa" (Sibylle Canonica) who is a complex character suffering from a host of mental issues due to always playing second fiddle to her deaf brother (Lara's father). As we see Clarissa become increasingly unhinged, possibly manipulating Lara's career for her own interests, the story takes on a deeper layer. It's this 2nd plot--relating to the collateral damage that a disability has on other family members--that really spices up the story.

"Beyond Silence" lots of food for thought, regardless of whether your life mirrors the lives of these characters. It's a thick family drama that revolves around the emotional friction within a family when people don't "hear" each other, literally or figuratively.

German films are like a tombola.You pull a lottery ticket and mostly its waste money. But sometimes you have luck and your ticket is the jackpot. Caroline Link,the director,from Bad Nauheim,my home town,is with Tom Tykwer and Hans-Christian Schmid the only hope for the german film. It was her first film for the cinema and then it was nominated for the golden globe. Its a wonderful film. You can love,hate,dream,cry and laugh. The protagonists are all very believeable. Mrs.Link doesn t need any special effects or optical drumbaborium to tell her story. One newspaper wrote,as good as candle-light,and thats the perfect description of the film. And I want to add,as soft as snow-flakes.

I think this is a GREAT film, and a wonderful piece of artwork. A very touching story between Lara and her parents. By the end I was weeping I was so touched ( and I don't cry easily at movies ). The Deaf culture is one very few of us take time to understand, but I think through films we can at least try. I HIGHLY recommend this film to anyone who is interested in Deaf culture, or just a great foreign film.

Young Lara is in a most unusual situation: her parents are both deaf-mute, so she has to communicate for both of them. It's sort of a constraining situation, and when a relative gives Lara the chance to become a musician, her parents try to keep her at home. She will have to choose.

The idea of the daughter having to speak for her parents is not something that I ever would have thought about, but "Jenseits der Stille" (called "Beyond Silence" in English) made me think about it. It's always good to be able to see such intellectual stories, especially when Hollywood makes so many pointless blow-'em-up movies.

Contrary to previous comments, sign language is NOT the same around the world. It is true that American Sign Language and French Sign Language are quite similar; this is because one of the first teachers of the deaf in the United States was a Frenchman, Laurent Clerc. However, at the the present time, French and American Sign Languages only have about 50% lexical similarity. Additionally, although German Sign Language is somewhat similar to other European sign languages, it is not related to ASL at all.

The sign language used by the little girl in this movie is German Sign Language. Her father is played by an American deaf man and her mother is played by a French deaf woman; their signing in German Sign Language is understandably accented.

For the record, I am a certified interpreter in American Sign Language.

when you totally give in to a movie, let down your guards, and are completely absorbed in the life of the characters, this is a good movie. i do not have deaf parents, i have a daughter (and the father daughter relationship was very touching for me, personally)but i just surrendered and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. i'd like to take this opportunity to thank my video store for having a foreign film library. i couldn't help but think of two things while watching this movie; 1.(and apparently many of you were thinking the same)is sign language the same in all countries? and don't laugh, 2. how this film compared to flashdance(bear with me)...and how it is obvious how flashdance was such a good idea on paper, but the translation to film was a complete failure. well..not complete, i liked it for one sit down. i will watch jenseits der stille again, as i do most subtitled films and enjoy it again. thank you ms. link, the cast and especially tatjana trieb and sylvie testud. you touched me.

I recently rented the movie, "Beyond the Silence," and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

As a sign language interpreter, I have read many books about CODA's (Children of Deaf Adults). I think that "Beyond the Silence" does a pretty good job of showing the difficulty and extra responsibilities that a child with deaf parents experiences.

If you enjoyed this movie, I would suggest reading the book "At a Loss for Words." It's a very touching story about a girl growing up with deaf parents and coming to terms with her feeling of guilt and anger and also love for them.

I'm not trying to be "preachy," but PLEASE don't call deaf people "mute." That term is negative and out-of-date.

One person asked whether German Sign Language is the same as American Sign Language, and, knowing just a bit of ASL, I can tell you that it appears to be the same. (French SL is almost identical, and I presume it's similar throughout the western countries.)

As for the movie, it's one of the best I've seen. Two things I especially liked about it: 1. The story is totally individual, and it isn't part of any genre -- it's just a real-people story. (I remember thinking this about "Fearless" as well.) 2. The story is so well written around the main character, Lara -- she herself has many facets to her personality, but no other character sees all of them. Each person understands and evokes only one side of her. This creates conflicts within the character, which the actresses do a great job of expressing.

What a terrific movie.

"Beyond Silence" is a tender look at the rift which develops between a young girl and her deaf parents as she and her interest in the clarinet grow. The film delivers it's story with a soft touch, avoiding extremes while maintaining an earnest sense of legitimacy. Excepting a few minor glitches, the film is technically and artistically well done, the acting good, the directing superb, and the story warm and thoughtful. A worthwhile watch.

When saying that because FSL, GSL, and ASL appear the same so they must be similar, is like saying because you can speak French, German, or English it is all similar, as you know isn't the case. Believe it or not, they are very much different and there is no such thing as universal signs. Although there are a few signs that are similar, just like we say "NO" and in Spanish the word for our no is in fact, "NO". But really, a Deaf person who signs ASL would have a VERY hard time communicating with someone who signs GSL. Sorry to be giving you an educational piece, but you wrote it so I had to comment it and I didn't want you to look bad to the Deaf Community. Thanks, have a great day!!!

Definitely a rare and wonderful find for a movie which includes a cast of REAL (instead of hired hearing-actor-pretending-as-a-deaf-person actors that you see sometimes in films!) deaf actors in the movie world nowadays....

Also, it's a bigger plus when you consider the directional approach chosen for this film -- it's an appreciative success.

I think this is a very neatly made movie. Although the focus of the movie itself is on Lara, the audience is also able to get to know each character's personality (e.g. Lara's parents, and her aunt and uncle). I personally found the reconciliation scene of Lara's Father and his sister very touching (though a bit too quick).

This movie encourages people to go and search for their own ideals and ambitions, and at the same time let them know that despite every kind of fame and riches in the world, nothing can be more important and precious than the love from your own family. Very touching indeed.

The music used in this movie is breath-taking as well. Alas that it doesn't have a soundtrack (or does it?).

The story was beautiful and provoked deep emotions in many sections, but I felt that much of the talent was aimed at displaying the ordinary communication within the family rather than the love of music or whatever passion the main characters may have had for their chosen lives. I felt cheated in some respects because the music and jobs seemed more window-dressing that life choices. Seeing and hearing Giora Feldman was a surprise and a treat. I wish there had been more about the music or more about the parents and their internal lives.

Jenseits der Stille/Beyond Silence (1996): Brief Review -

A great conflict between blood relatives, but could have been more engrossing and tactical. Beyond Silence explores a great conflict between deaf parents and their music-loving daughter. The daughter wants to pursue a career in music (her instrument is the clarinet), but her parents can't hear, so it becomes difficult for her. Her main duty for her parents, which is to be their interpreter, somehow starts annoying her, and she begins to dislike her father. I remember watching a similar topic in "CODA" recently, but the humour and comedy were far better there. Beyond Silence is mute in the comedy zone and deaf in humor. The plot lacks dramatic sequences and engrossing moments, which usually lift such dramas. Remember what The Miracle Worker did with those intense moments with a child? I was expecting something like that from this movie, but it fell flat there. The love story, arguments, and family disliking all seemed rushed. It's not a long film, but it still has many slow films, and I was happy to use the fast-forward button time and again. The screenplay could have been faster than this, especially when you have fewer dialogues and more subtitles to read. Maybe that's one of the reasons why the film doesn't have heavy dramatic sequences. For that, you need long monologues, and here, two of the main characters couldn't have those verbal conversations and arguments due to disability. Also, I feel that the climax was too typical for the 90s. Sylvie Testud and Tatjana Trieb play teenage and childhood Lara, respectively, and both have done a great job. Howie Seago was amazing, and Emmanuelle Laborit looked so cute. I had a feeling that Sibylle Canonica was turning out to be a good villain, and then there was a fine reformation in the ending. By the way, she was too beautiful to become a villain. Caroline Link's story might not be that good, but her direction skills were notably good. Overall, a fine flick on a challenging conflict, but couldn't see its own potential of becoming a path-breaking film.

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest.

i first saw this movie over 5 years ago when i was working at walt Disney world. after i first saw it i walked out of the theater in wonder... and the comments that i heard from others that saw it - they thought that it was just as good as i did!

coming from a background in Deaf education i can tell you that German sign language and asl are not the same. they are similar however... enough for me to know most of what was being said after watching the movie for a while.

i lived at a deaf school for a year and so to see the relationships between lara and her parents... well, let me tell you that was done quite nicely. and i just love the scene with tom and lara and the song 'i will survive'!! it made me laugh so hard!!!

for a while after i saw the movie i looked to buy it. i could not find it anywhere for quite some time. i finally found it available online and bought it on VHS. yes, there is a soundtrack, as i have that as well.

As a German myself I know how bad usually German movies are. This one is one of the very very very few exceptions. What makes it an exception is: no overdoing morality, no sentimentality beyond realism, GOOD ACTORS (all of them newcomers, so nepotism didn't do it as in many other German movies), an original story. Is there a scent of dawn in German Filmindustry ?

Jenseits der Stille is the story of a young girl who cares for her deaf father and mother and is very fond of music.She plays clarinet and would like to study music in a conservatory in Berlin.Is also an excellent film about two worlds: the world of the silence and the world of the voices,the noices and the music.Her parents hardly can understand her passion for the music, but she must go further. A mention to Caroline Link who gave us a very fine and touching about a real-people story. The performance of Sylvie Testud as Lara is excellent, but also I must mention Howie Seago (her father Martin) and Emmanuelle Laborit (her mother Kai) made excellent performances.

This is a very emotional and touching movie about what realy matters in life. You cry and you laugh during this movie. I watched it first time when I was studying to become a special education teacher. After this movie you either want to play clarinet or lern sign language. I chose sign language.

Jenseits der Stille (Beyond Silence) is an excellent film. I wish I had seen (or heard about) this film years ago! I am a big fan of German cinema and have worked closely with the Deaf community in Canada. The performances were outstanding and the story realistic. I hope to see more works by these actors, the writer and director.

Chad

Lara grew up with two deaf parents. She translates for her parents and also shows her rebellious side against her father. Her clarinet playing aunt interests her in the clarinet with which she becomes successful. It's a success that her parents cannot share. The separation between child and parents grows which is exacerbated by the conflict between the aunt and the father. The aunt is also hiding a secret from the family.

It's a complex movie about a family dealing with handicap. The compelling part is that the father is no saint. The parents' handicap has real consequences. The misunderstandings are real. The girl is not simply a brat. There are several sides to the same story. It's all handled with care. The girl's deliberate mistranslations are hilarious. She's cute and quite charismatic. The girl becomes a young woman midway in the movie. The aunt adds another layer to the story. It's a family that feels real.