CODA

Directed by Sian Heder (2021)

I'd thought about the challenges of being a deaf child, but never considered what it would be like to be a hearing child in an all deaf family. CODA tells the story of Ruby - one such child - dealing with the struggles of breaking free from her family and becoming her own person. Of course, that sounds like any other coming of age tale. Which it is! That's what makes this movie so great - it isn't just about Ruby's family being deaf, it's about her accepting this is a part of her life while also finding her own identity separate from her family. She feels obligated to help her family as essentially a translator, but this begins to hold her back from following her passion, which just so happens to be singing. This is another point of conflict in the film; the family coming to terms with Ruby pursuing a path that they could never truly be a part of. 

Another cool thing about this movie is that all the deaf characters are played by deaf actors! This makes sense, but I'd guess this isn't true of most deaf characters in film. 

(11/26/21)