Listening to Each Other: On 1996’s Beyond Silence | Far Flungers

Inevitably, this leads to a conflict that hovers over the film’s second half. When Clarissa suggests that Lara should stay along with her in Berlin during the upcoming summer while preparing for the audition to be held at some prestigious conservatory in the city, Lara—now played by Sylvie Testud from this point—is certainly excited. However, their plan happens to be revealed too early to everyone in the family, and Martin is naturally not so pleased. Although he does not stop his daughter, he feels angry and hurt again. The gap between him and his daughter widens.

The movie switches into a more cheerful mode as Lara goes to Berlin and enjoys many exciting things in the city. While she becomes more aware of the ongoing estrangement between Clarissa and her husband, that’s the last thing for her to worry about, and Clarissa is ready to show her niece more of how life can be pretty fun and interesting in Berlin.

In addition, Lara happens to have her first opportunity of romance. At a local marketplace, she spots a little girl and a handsome lad having a brief conversation via sign language, and is instantly interested in what they’re doing. She’s then surprised to discover he is actually not deaf, but the teacher of that little deaf girl. Despite their rather awkward first encounter, it does not take much time for them become attracted to each other, even though he will soon leave for the U.S.

Leisurely moving from one episodic moment to another, the screenplay by director Caroline Link, mainly known for her Oscar-winning film “Nowhere in Africa” (2001) and her co-writer Beth Serlin, wisely does not try to push its many different story elements into easy resolution. Although we get hopeful moments of understanding and reconciliation in the end as expected, the movie does not look away from many matters that remain unresolved among Lara and her family members.

The movie is carried well by two excellent performances at its center. In what may be one of the most memorable child performances from the last several decades, Tatjana Trieb effortlessly occupies her every scene in the film without looking too cute or precocious at all, and she’s especially wonderful in the scene where Lara shows her wily side when her class teacher tries to have some serious conversation with her parents via her translation. Kids are usually innocent, but, as many of us know, they can also be selfish enough to see chances to benefit themselves. Lara is no exception.

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