The Silent Child

I only found out about this film a few minutes before it aired today on BBC one, thanks to my brother Kevin Howick mentioning it to me, but I'm so glad he did.

This film has won an Oscar and at first I thought, how does a film that is only 20 minutes long win an Oscar. But, that was before I watched it.

I'm sitting here choked up and close to tears at what I've just seen, I'll try and review this movie without giving away the story too much as it's such a sad film, but it's a film everyone needs to watch.

The Silent Child stars a little girl who was born deaf, which is hard for her parents to appreciate as her parents and all her siblings have hearing.

What happens is her parents hire a really friendly sign language teacher who teaches the little girl sign language and it really makes a difference. When the sign language teacher meets the little girl her mum says 'she doesn't talk much' but that is because her mum and her siblings to an extent don't appreciate what the little girl is going through.

There is excellent direction as we see life from the girls side, all she sees is people moving their lips but can't process what they're saying.

The sign language teacher is brilliant and she changes all that. The girl learns the sign language and suddenly she can communicate she is happy it changes everything, but unfortunately her mum just doesn't believe that sign language is right and wants her daughter to learn to lip read.

I won't say anymore than that because if I do I will give the ending anyway but let's just say it left me very emotional and choked up. It's a huge lesson in the fact that people don't appreciate deafness and that not enough is being done to help children with deafness.

The fact that so many deaf or partially deaf children are just 'left to it' in mainstream education is just inexcusable. This movie will change a lot of people's opinions about deafness, it really will.

In conclusion The Silent Child is moving and upsetting and the ending will break your heart but it really is a must watch. Outstanding piece of film and very close to my all time top ten. Again like others I've seen recently it just misses out on the top ten but easily sits in the top 15. Truly a must watch and truly a five star movie. Well done on the movie and the Oscar. 5 stars awarded. Moving.

*This review is all my own work, please don't reproduce without my permission thank you

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