directed by Sian Heder
I was about to recommend you a different film today, but after watching “CODA” I just feel like writing about it immediately. In case you think CODA is some kind of a secret-agents squad, let me explain – Child Of Deaf Adults. So this is a story about a girl, not a bunch of men in fancy suits with pew-pew gadgets. Ruby (Emilia Jones) is a hearing teenager living with her deaf family – dad Frank (Troy Kotsur), mom Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and brother Leo (Daniel Durant). She’s the only hearing person in her family, which also makes her the family connection between them and the world. One day Ruby joins the school’s choir, where she discovers that her voice is something extraordinary. Her teacher Mr. V (Eugenio Derbez) wishes the girl to continue practising and even think of making a career in singing. Ruby, however, knows that there’s no way she could leave her family without support and now she has to make a difficult decision – follow her dreams or stay loyal to her beloved ones. If the story seems familiar to you, then let me tell you that it is a remake of “La Famille Bélier” by Éric Lartigau. And even though I’ve seen the original and liked it very much, it’s the American remake that made me cry like a baby. Not sure if it’s because of the better choice in actors, or the screenplay, or the directing, but I felt incredibly emotional watching it. Here’s going to be a small spoiler so be careful – *SPOILER COMING* When Ruby is performing on stage for the first time and at some point we stop hearing anything, just like her family who are there, my heart slowed down and I froze. It was such a strange experience, which made me feel like a part of the film, not just a random viewer. Magnificent moment, magnificent idea. *END OF SPOILER* Generally, I believe we need more and more productions like this one. Personally, I know some CODAs and I know how difficult their life is. They grow up very fast as they become their family support in everything – in various offices, in medical centres, in workplaces – literally everywhere. And not because they are forced to do it, but because they want to do it. None of them have told me that they hate it. None. Although I imagine how many times they must have cancelled something personal because their family needed them then. Second of all, this film reminds us how horribly deaf people are discriminated, resulting in them staying only among other deaf people, because they are aware of the social rejection. This is heart-breaking for me. But here comes a funny coincidence – I was learning sign language many years ago and I promised myself yet in 2021 that starting from 2022 I will get back to signing so I can use it on a communicative level. And I think “CODA” is a wonderful reminder and motivation for me to keep going. Beautiful film, very important topic and huge inspiration. Take it!
My rating: 8/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 