Beyond Silence (1996 film) explained

Jenseits der Stille
Director:	Caroline Link
Runtime:	112 minutes
Cinematography:	Gernot Roll
Music:	Niki Reiser
Editing:	Patricia Rommel
Country:	Germany
Gross:	$11.5 million^[1]

Beyond Silence (German: '''Jenseits der Stille''') is a 1996 German film directed by Caroline Link. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards.^[2]

Plot

The film tells the story of Lara, who grows up as the daughter of deaf parents, Martin and Kai. Lara herself is hearing and is fluent in sign language. Even as a young child, she serves as an interpreter for her parents in many situations, such as credit negotiations at the bank as well as her own parent–teacher conference, although not always completely truthfully.

Lara receives a clarinet for Christmas from Clarissa, her father's sister and an enthusiastic musician. Lara discovers the world of music, where her parents cannot follow her. In the years that follow, she is discovered to be a talented clarinet player. When 18-year-old Lara wants to study at a music conservatory in Berlin, the family seems to break apart. Lara finds love in Berlin with a teacher of deaf children.

After Kai is killed in a bicycle accident, Lara's grieving father feels abandoned. Lara bounces from her family home, to her aunt's, to her uncle's before returning to her childhood home. The ending seems to reconcile it all: Martin tries to understand the love of music that his daughter feels, and the film comes to a careful reunion between him and Lara.

Reviews

Beyond Silence has an 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[3]

• "A successful film debut of a graduate of the Munich Film Academy. The film is a sensible presentation of the problem of the handicapped as well as the universal theme of the self discovery of a young woman and the plea for understanding and openness about seemingly disproportionate experiences." (film-dienst 25/1996)
• "Whoever would like to find out how loud the snow is and how the sounds of a clarinet can enchant people, should not allow themselves to miss this film: a German production which takes up extraordinary themes across the relationship-comedy and tells the story about saying goodbye to one's childhood with gentle humor and an idiosyncratic aesthetic." (Fischer Film Almanach, 1997)
• "A film that allows silence to become music and has found strength in the balance between laughing and crying, happiness and pain. "Jenseits der Stille" is memorable among German productions, and excellently cast. (Dirk Jasper FilmLexikon)
• "Thanks to good casting for all roles and assured acting performances under its direction, this [film is] a successful journey into the world of the deaf, with all its problems of social integration and family conflict." (FBW Langfilme)

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
1997	Bavarian Film Awards	Best Director	Caroline Link
		Best Film Score	Niki Reiser
	Chicago International Film Festival	Special Mention	Caroline Link
		Best Film	Caroline Link
	Deutscher Filmpreis	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role	Sylvie Testud
		Best Editing	Niki Reiser
		Outstanding Feature Film	Caroline Link
		Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role	Emmanuelle Laborit
		Best Direction	Caroline Link
	Guild of German Art House Cinemas	German Film	Caroline Link
	Palm Springs International Film Festival	Best Foreign Language Film	Caroline Link
	Tokyo International Film Festival	Best Screenplay Award	Caroline Link
		Tokyo Grand Prix	Caroline Link
	Vancouver International Film Festival	Most Popular Film	Caroline Link
	Young Artist Award	Best Family Feature - Foreign	Caroline Link
		Best Performance in a Foreign Film	Tatjana Trieb
1998	Academy Awards	Best Foreign Language Film	Caroline Link
	National Board of Review	Top Foreign Films	Caroline Link

See also

• List of submissions to the 70th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of German submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing
• (1996), Indian film with similar plot.^[4]

Book

• Book: Link, Caroline . Jenseits der Stille . Aufbau . 2001 . Berlin . 978-3-7466-1453-3 . registration .

External links

• Ungewöhnliche Dreharbeiten - Bayerischer Rundfunk
• Filmeintrag auf omdb.org with underground information

Notes and References

1. Web site: Jenseits der Stille (Beyond Silence) (1998) - JPBox-Office .
2. Web site: The 70th Academy Awards (1998) Nominees and Winners . 13 October 2015 . oscars.org.
3. Web site: Beyond Silence (1996) . Rotten Tomatoes . January 10, 2017.
4. News: 18 October 2016 . European films being 'inspired by' Indian films rather than the other way round . en-IN . The Hindu . 21 March 2022 . 0971-751X.