"Hearing Girls" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2021 and won three awards: the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award, and the Director's Award.
The film's director and screenwriter are cheyenne Hyde, not very famous, and only completed the first feature film "Tallura" in 2016, starring Alan Peggy, who was still a woman at the time, and of course now called Elliot Peggy. Cheyenne Hyde's current best-known directorial work is "Listening Girl".
The original title of this film is CODA, and the full name is children of deaf adults, that is, the hearing children of deaf families.
The story of the film revolves around such a family, and the protagonist is naturally the listening girl Ruby, played by emilia Jones, a post-00 actor.
She began filming at the age of 8, acting in the well-known "One Day" by Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturges, in which she played the youngest daughter of the male protagonist and also starred in "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" in the same year.
With the exception of the hearing girl, the other three members of the family are deaf and mute. Among them, Dad is played by Troy Cortsur, an actor who usually plays supporting roles in some TV series.
Mary Mateline, who plays her mother, is much more famous, having won an Oscar in 1987 for "Children Out of Favor with God." Starring in Randy Chisque's "The Dumb Prosecutor" in 1991, I saw the title and knew why Cheyenne Hyde had asked her to play this mom who used American sign language from beginning to end.
Daniel Durant, who plays Ruby's brother, is temporarily less famous and has a fixed role in the American drama "Misplaced Youth".
Ruby has a life-changing teacher, Bernardo, starring Eugenio Delvis, a Mexican who directed and starred in the comedy "Very Father-Daughter" in 2013, and has also done screenwriting, production, and scoring.
Ruby's girlfriend is Played by Amy Forsyth, the heroine of the second season of the thriller American drama Zero Channel.
In addition, there is a familiar face in the film, that is, Foddía Walsh-Piro, who plays Ruby's boyfriend, who is the male protagonist of the 2016 fire school youth film "First Love This Love Song", which was also released in China last year. The director chose him to play a choir teenager, obviously making full use of his inherent image in the hearts of the audience.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="12" > spoiler ahead</h1>
How society treats groups such as deaf and mute people has always been guided by "eliminating discrimination". There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but the slogan is a bit too big to obscure the specific problems that arise when groups of accessible people and deaf-mute people get along.
"Hearing Girls" provides a new perspective, arranging a barrier-free character into a deaf-mute family, maximizing the frequency of contact between the two groups, and also spawning a series of new problems.
In the film, we can clearly see that even with the blessing of the family relationship, Ruby still has a lot of estrangement from the three deaf and mute family members.
At the beginning of the film, Ruby's family goes out to sea to fish, and here you can pay attention to the gloves worn by everyone, Dad and brother are orange, and Ruby is blue, which has paved the way for their estrangement.
The creator may be worried that the audience will not find out, but also specially arranged the plot of the broken shoe, so that the camera is pushed closer, and the audience can see the glove more clearly.
Then there's a close-up of a pair of hands wearing blue gloves turning up the volume of the speaker, which we can already guess Ruby's hand, and we find that she's the only one on the ship who needs to turn up the volume.
The gloves are still at work in the follow-up story. For example, after the fishing boat quota, the family may face an economic crisis, and Ruby sees her parents arguing about their future livelihood.
The next day when she is working on a fishing boat, there is a scene where she takes off her gloves, and here is a shot of her father, who is not wearing gloves, indicating that Ruby understands her father's difficulties and that there is no defense between them for the time being.
Before that, Ruby was still full of resentment towards the family, recalling the last family scene, when the family was eating, Ruby was told by her mother that she was rude because she was wearing headphones, and her brother watched the dating software, but her mother did not scold him, because she felt that Ruby could only enjoy listening to music alone, and watching the dating software, the whole family could participate.
In this scene, you can pay attention to the clothes everyone wears, mom and brother wear cardigans that can open their chests, and Ruby wears a very closed sweatshirt.
In the general impression, deaf and mute people are representatives of closure, but at home they are closer to each other because of this relationship, but Ruby is excluded.
Here, the gap between the two groups is innate, because neither side can understand each other's feelings. As for who is excluded, it depends on the number of people.
At the autumn concert, Ruby's family came to the scene, in this scene, they belong to the minority, only they can not enjoy the singing on the stage, even if the people around them are not malicious, objectively they are still excluded.
And at this time, Ruby has reconciled with her family, but the estrangement still exists naturally, and no matter how hard they try, they will not be able to enter Ruby's world.
The scene is also deliberately silenced when Ruby and Miles are halfway through singing, and zoom is applied in the camera, allowing the audience to focus on Ruby's parents and intuitively experience what it's like they can't participate in.
If the film only expresses this layer of estrangement, then the role of the brother seems to be a bit redundant, but fortunately, the creators bring out another new perspective through the role of the brother.
My brother always wanted to prove that he could live independently, even to support the family and not rely on his sister. Of course, he always does things with a hot head and can't think far.
Because of this, Ruby has been unable to reassure them, and during the quarrel, the brother has made a point: deaf and dumb people are not so helpless, and let the "normal people" learn how to get along with them.
This perspective is indeed worth thinking about, most people tend to stop at "non-discrimination" in their treatment of deaf-mutes, but there is not much patience for real communication. Once there is such an interpreter as Ruby, it will be even more lazy.
Deaf and mute people often dare not go out of the outside world because of low self-esteem, just like mothers. As a result, both groups remain in place, unable to break the barriers. This is an objective problem, and there is still a long way to go if you want to solve it.
Having talked about the issue of group estrangement, let's talk about family relations. Ruby was originally the youngest member of the family, but because she could communicate with the outside world without obstacles, she was socially dominant. At the same time, her communication skills are a necessity in the fishing industry on which the family depends, so she has mastered the lifeblood of the family.
From time to time, there are some comedic bridges in the film, which highlight the characteristics of Ruby who is more like a parent. For example, she wants to take her parents to the doctor, and when she sees her father smoking marijuana, she has to teach a lesson.
The first time Ruby takes Miles home, she hears her parents fighting in the next room, when the two are caught sitting on the couch in silence, like children who have done something wrong.
However, every time they find themselves in a position of guardianship, they immediately assume a parental posture and regain their authority. For example, after Papa was caught, Dad turned to teaching Miles to use condoms.
There is also Ruby arguing with her mother, persuading her to go out more to see the outside world, and her mother immediately realizes that her status has declined, and immediately asks Ruby to put away the bowl and forcibly show her parental hegemony.
After Ruby tells them that she wants to go to college, everyone disagrees, on the one hand, the family's livelihood needs to rely on Ruby's interpretation communication, which seems to be a dependence on adults.
On the other hand, the mother is afraid that her daughter is fully integrated into social life, and since then she has gradually become estranged from this deaf-mute family. Again, this is a mother's anxiety about separation from her daughter.
The reason for this chaotic family status is that Ruby's social attributes are much more conspicuous than her family's, and second, Ruby has ethical and emotional bonds with her family. Together, Ruby has to be a bridge between her family and the outside world, which requires her to sacrifice her personal pursuits.
This is another major storyline of the film, where Ruby has a talent for singing, enters the choir, is appreciated by Bernardo, and recommends her to interview Berkeley.
The whole school drama has obvious campus romance genre routines, there are girlfriends, there are boys who like her, and there are classmates who bully her, which is decent from the perspective of genre films.
The less deficient place is the role of Ruby's girlfriend, although it is a secondary role, the role can not be too much, but if you can explain her growth background and environment through lines, let the audience know why she will become good friends with someone like Ruby who is made fun of by everyone, this character will be more plump.
As for the montage of the final reunion, it is also a bit cheesy. However, there is also merit, that is, to put the scene where the family no longer relies on Ruby in the front, and then to show the scene of Ruby's results, which shows that whether Ruby can pass the exam or not, they have decided not to bind her and let her pursue her dreams. Otherwise, there is still an element of forced abandonment.
The montage is an overheaval from the scene where Ruby interviews Berkeley, connected by a Boston sides now. This interview scene is also a typical counterattack routine, but Ruby sings while translating the lyrics in sign language, which is a very bright design.
Because of this layer of design, the lyrics become very important, and the song chosen by the creator is indeed a great plus. Both sides now was written by Jonny Michelle in her 20s, and the lyrics are about looking at life from different perspectives.
It is specifically mentioned that the author looked at the cloud at that time, only to feel that it blocked the sunlight, but at the same time imagined that the other end of the cloud, there may be a different scenery, and finally said that maybe she did not understand life.
It's interesting that Jonny Michelle, who has covered the song again in her 70s, has reached the other side of her life and can see the cloud from another angle.
Ruby sang this song again at this time, perhaps representing her transformation, from the role of a parent who paid for the family to the person who paid for her dreams, and the family also changed from opposition to support, which is also the two ends of the cloud.
Personally, I've always loved this song so much that I just ended it with the lyrics of the song:
Bows and flows of angel hair
Like an angel bending and drifting hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
Like a canyon full of feathers
I've looked at cloud that way
That's what the cloud was like in my heart
But now they only block the sun
But now they cover the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
Rain and snow fell on everyone
So many things I would have done
There are many things I should have done
But clouds got in my way
But the cloud blocked my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
I've seen clouds from both sides
From up and down and still somehow
From top to bottom, I still can't understand it
It's cloud illusions I recall
I think it's an illusion of the cloud
I really don't know clouds at all
I really don't know anything about the cloud
Moons and Junes and ferris wheels the dizzy
You dance absently,
Dancing way that you feel
Feels like the moon like June like the Ferris wheel
As every fairy tale comes real
Like every fairy tale becomes a reality
I've looked at love that way
That's what love was like in my heart
But now it's just another show
But now it's a different story
You leave`em laughing when you go
You leave in the midst of everyone else's laughter
And if you care don't let them know
If you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away
Don't give up on yourself
I've looked at love from both sides now
I have thought about love from both sides
From give and take and still somehow
To think about giving and giving is still not clear
It's love's illusions I recall
I guess it's an illusion of love
I really don't know love
I really don't understand love
I really don't know love at all
I really don't understand love at all
Tears and fears and feeling proud to say
Tears and fear and pride
I love you right out loud
Say "I love you" out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
A crowd of dreams and plans and circuses
I've looked at life that way
That's what life used to be like in my heart
But now old friends are acting strange
But now my old friends behave differently
They shake their heads and they tell him that I've changed
They shook their heads and told him I had changed
Something's lost but something's gained in living every day
There are things that are lost and gained every day in life
I've looked at life from both sides now
I have thought about life from two sides
From win and lose and still somehow
Thinking about what is won and what is lost is still not clear
It's life's illusions I recall
I guess it's an illusion of life
I really don't know life at all
I really don't understand life at all
I really don't know life
I really don't understand life