Land of Silence and Darkness

There's something about leading deaf-blind people through a cactus patch that is the most Herzog thing of all.

I would have preferred more screen-time for the children; I thought their situation was the most compelling. In fact, there were times when I forget Fini was even deaf and blind because she was so highly functional. Interesting concept, questionable execution. The ending has a strange beauty to it, though.

Echoing many sentiments here, I'd say this film isn't really served well by mini-reviews. The less said about it the better probably.

Lyrical and poetic, well-structured, fascinating, and emotionally wrenching. There are times when individual scenes over stay their welcome, but that's a small complaint. Fini is such a strong, articulate, confident woman. Seeing her interact with and show compassion for others with her condition is enough to bring tears to my eyes. The parts with the children are especially touching and interesting. And don't get me started on Vladimir. This is Herzog's first great documentary.

My worst nightmare, and one of Werner Herzog's least stylized and most compelling documentaries. It is by turns joyous and dismal, and always very moving. He focuses on a number of fascinating people, and I was really amazed at how fluently some of them communicate. Herzog just lets the footage roll without cutting too much, lending the film a very natural tone and pace.

While I wish they didn't split the film up between Fini and her mission to educate and help people like her and between the children who were deaf and blind from birth (easily the most interesting part of the documentary) I was still very much moved by this film. The end scene is exactly why I love Herzog. His ability to find beauty in the most dire and depressing of circumstances is incredible. A very interesting documentary idea only hindered by its lack of focus, see it for the kids.

Herzog creates an uplifting but also heartwrenching documentary, presenting its subjects in a very personal and intimate way. He knows exactly what to shoot, how to shoot it and how long he should hold it for maximum effect. In the 2nd half of the film Herzog is torturing us with the pain and isolation these people go through, spinning the typical "happy ending" on its head, the beginning is happy, the ending is as bleak as anything. Herzog is a master of the documentary form.

"The Most Wonderful Art" ~ Herzog's ability to find beauty in the most dire and depressing of circumstances is incredible. Every encounter of Fini was special; full of hope. And also the criticism about negligent society is so strong and subtly.

A Herzog doc where he doesn't inject himself all over the place? It's disconcerting and I kind of miss him here. Straubinger is more than game for filling that space, though. A deaf and blind woman at the centre of the film, who visits others with similar misfortune, she speaks loudly and clearly and her enthusiasm for life dominates what could easily have become a bleak and depressing film. Instead it is one full of sorrow but also full of hope and moments of joy and appreciation.

A striking early Herzog documentary that contains all of the curiosity and compassion of great films like Grizzly Man and Into the Abyss. The scenes with Vladimir, the man who is "unawakened" to the real world, are particularly powerful, but the whole film really works to have you reconsider the world around you.

The fact that Fini Straubinger is better adapted to the world than I am made for a fairly boring first 3/4 of the film. You almost wouldn't know there was anything "wrong"(terrible person, here) with her or her entourage. Finally we are introduced to the Fascinating (terrible person, here), "unawakened" Vlad Kokol, whom I can't wrap my mind around and can't stop trying.

It's a fascinating subject, but it's not one of Herzog's more interesting documentaries. I generally prefer the ones where he has a stronger narrative voice. In this one he mostly just lets the camera roll on that highly functional deaf-blind woman, which is only interesting for a short while. Highlights include the deaf-blind trip to the botanical garden, and the look at the deaf-blind children. I felt like I learned more from watching those children than I did during rest of the film.

I can relate because I'm tasteless

O País do Silêncio e da Escuridão estreava há 50 anos no Festival de Mannheim-Heidelberg. A beleza da apoteose humanista . É muito fácil errar o tom de um filme com tal temática, o que impressiona é o que o Herzog jamais erra o tom de seus filmes, esse é um dos quais sua visão humanista do mundo traz aquele quentinho no coração que tanto precisamos. BlurayRip no MakingOff.

The voice of Fini Straubinger will forever be engrained in my mind. When I see her image or some reference to the film, I hear her voice. No doubt a woman of extraordinary courage but even more so a woman who deeply cared for those also 'trapped' within themselves. Herzog compassionately and expertly manages to paint a much more vivid and poetic picture than I mere depiction of the mechanics of life without sight or sound.

Terrific account of deaf-blind people as we follow a communicative old lady meeting other people like her -- from a woman who just can't communicate to kids that were born like this and struggle to understand abstract concepts to a man who only recognizes the hand of his mother. Herzog manages to be touching but not sentimental, unearthly but not exotic. The scene where Fini describes what would be a painting if she could paint is just heart-wrenching.

Herzog's greatest talent as a director is his ability to reveal worlds that exist marginally in our peripheral vision, if at all. What emerges in Land of Silence and Darkness is a deeply compassionate portrait of severely disabled people that is both depressing and humbling. Fini's determination to help and communicate with others who were never blessed with the gifts of sound and sight is moving, and her confident, declarative voice lends her a dignified quality that's impossible to deny.

Fini Straubinger's life is captured in a really tender way. It's clear that Herzog sympathises with her and wanted to pay homage to her and the meaning she's assigned to her life. The final tangent of the film sees the camera veer astray with Herr Fleischmann, a deaf-blind man who has lost the ability to communicate almost entirely. This sequence alone is possibly Herzog's most organic and unrepeatable few minutes of documentary film.

A humanist masterpiece. Herzog finds hope in the most incredible of circumstances.

we should keep silent about that movie

The immediate inclination would be to turn this into a sob story. But while there are some very powerful moments of sadness (particularly that poor woman in the asylum, unable to communicate with anyone), Herzog doesn't stand around pitying his subjects, and many (especially Fini) are quite capable and resilient in the face of their enormous obstacles. A very interesting look at an unfortunately neglected population.

Just another unique and powerful experience that only Herzog could give us.

839

Words become more hollow than ever. It's Herzog, and it's about deaf-blind people.

# 914