It has to be said that Italian directors are very good at telling stories with movies.
The movie I want to recommend today is also from Italy.
This is an unpopular film released in 2007.
The director received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for this film.
However, it is a movie based on a true story -
"Hear Heaven"
The film tells the story of director Cristino Burton's working partner, Italian sound engineer Mico Mankassi, who grew up as a blind child in the 70s of the last century.
Miko gradually lost his eyesight due to an accident at the age of eight, but instead of giving up on himself, he found his unique talent for sound.
He gradually led him to become a professional sound engineer and musician in the film industry, known for his dazzling visual arts.
And today's "Hear Heaven" director Christino Burton, during a casual film shooting process, Miko talked about how he grew up in an extraordinary school isolated from the world.
In Italy in the 70s, losing sight meant losing all hope and learning to become a telephone operator or weaver.
However, schoolchildren are constantly fighting against the school in order to gain respect for the visually impaired and the right to realize their dreams.
Cristino Burton was touched by the story Mico told.
So a moving movie about dreams and courage was born.
Mick in the film was born in an ordinary family in Tuscany, Italy.
He has a pair of deep bright eyes, is lively and active by nature, loves movies very much, and goes to the theater with his family every weekend, but accidents happen.
At the beginning of the film, a group of children are playing hide-and-seek, and Mick, the blindfolded hero, breaks into the eyes of the audience.
After he took off the blindfold, those bright eyes were as bright and vibrant as if they were shining in the sun.
But this also foreshadows the plot later, where the playful Mick, driven by curiosity, picks up the shotgun that changed his fate.
There was a loud bang, and the screen went black, as if the whole world had fallen silent.
When it lit up again, Mick was lying on the floor, bloody.
From then on, God closed Mick's eyes.
His eyesight is basically zero, and he can only see some dark shadows, which is a big blow to young Mick.
At that time, Italy had strict rules about the schooling of blind children, that is, they were no longer allowed to attend regular schools.
So Mick's parents had to send Miko to school for blind children.
It was a well-behaved school.
The principal himself is blind.
Therefore, in his cognition, a blind child is already a congenital weakling, and he can only live if he is more disciplined and strives to learn a craft to earn a living.
In the face of everything here, Mick was very resistant.
At first, he refused to learn skills such as Braille and knitting.
It wasn't until he overheard the beautiful sounds coming from the tape recorder that he became obsessed with collecting all kinds of sounds and then putting them together into a wonderful theater.
He began to rebel, and it just so happened that his difference was noticed by Teacher Tang, who taught culture.
This kind teacher told him that in addition to sight, he also has hearing, and if he can't see the world, then listen to the world.
So Mick embarked on the path of replacing sight with hearing to see the beauty of the world.
Mick's actions were seen by the blind school principal as "unprofessional", and he ordered Mick to be expelled from the school.
But Mick's creative behavior has affected his classmates, teachers, and even his workers at the steel mill.
So everyone joined forces, fought the principal, and finally won the initiative, and Mick and his friends were able to put on a perfect presentation performance for the parents with their voices.
The touching points of the film:
In addition to interpreting Mick's courage not to give up hope when his life is frustrated in a real and non-sensational way, it is also the process of shooting the entire film.
From the beginning of planning for this film, the director wanted some of the actors in the film to be performed by blind children in real life.
Because they face real-life obstacles, they are characters in the movie.
Therefore, the biggest challenge of this film is how to integrate ordinary actors and visually impaired actors into the film.
The addition of visually impaired actors increases the difficulty of production and gives the film a deeper meaning.
The casting process took about a year, and the crew toured Italy to find talented children.
What impressed the crew was not only their natural performance, but also their passion and determination for life during the filming of the film.
During the long group acting training, visually impaired children learn how to act in movies, while ordinary children learn the movements of visually impaired children.
Finally, an incredible sense of harmony is perfectly displayed in the film.
At the same time, in addition to the plot adapted from a true story.
Director Cristino Burton also incorporates the turbulent social state of Italy in the 70s.
With the rise of liberal ideology and social movements, students and laborers poured into the streets to protest all irrational policies, just as Mico fought against the established system in a school for the blind.
He eagerly conveys a common idea through "Hear Heaven":
No matter what state they are in, everyone has the right to pursue their dreams bravely.
Mick in the movie can use a tape recorder to include the world's sounds, and we can feel the beauty of the world in other ways.
The four seasons we see are the revival of all things in spring, the heat wave in summer, the yellow leaves in autumn, and the white snow in winter.
And in Mick's world, spring is raindrops, summer is cicada song, autumn is wind, and winter is dry thunder.
In the process of exploring the world, he collects sounds little by little to create a world of his own hearing.
Physical disability is a barrier but not a barrier.
The freedom of the children's hearts gives wings to the voice, and this joy transcends the boundless darkness.
"Hear Heaven" 2006
Director: Christino Burton
Starring: Luca Capoliti / Marco Kochi
Douban 8.9 IMDb7.8