Silence is golden in "The Silent Child"

The most recent Oscar award-winner for the best live-action short film is "The Silent Child," a very powerful piece showcasing the struggles of a deaf child in a world of silence. We see a young girl by the name of Libby overcome years of neglect through the help of a caretaker who teaches her how to sign and gain some confidence. By the end of the film, however, we see Libby's parents decide, against the pleadings of Libby's caretaker, that she doesn't need to know sign language and that she should just learn to read lips to get through life and be normal. This proves to be devestating to Libby and actually makes things much worse for her. The call to action of the film was to advocate for the rights of disabled people and that just because people are disabled, doesn't mean that they can't function in society, they just have to be taught different.

I loved this film and I loved the message that proper teaching can bring people out of isolation and imprisonment. These selfsame themes are even found throughout the production of the film, from the lighting and sound design to the set design and the framing. For example, at the beginning of the film, the entire landscape was filled with fog, giving a feeling of veing cut-off from the world-- the same thing Libby felt. Libby's house also felt dark and not very colorful.  After Libby started to learn more signing, things got more bright, colorful and less foggy. It gave a much needed hope for Libby, but it wouldn't last long. After her parents ended her signing lessons, things returned to the dark and gloomy, perhaps worse than before. Libby was again trapped in the dark and lonliness of her deafness as signified by the lighting and color.

There was a really cool bit of set design that also signified Libby's entrapment. Towards the beggining of the film, there is a shot where it shows Libby on the second floor playong by herself. The way the camera is set up makes it look like the balusters of the stairs look like prison bars, indicating that Libby felt trapped in her own home. The same image happens at the end of the film where Libby's now unemployed caretaker is signing to her through a gate at Libby's school. However, this time the camera's placement makes both Libby and her caretaker look like they are behind prison bars. Libby is trapped in a school system that won't cater ti her needs and her caretaker is powerless to try and help her.

This was a beautiful and poignant film that I think more people need to see. It definitely deserved it's Oscar.