Hear and Now
Hear and Now
| 27 January 2007 (USA)
Hear and Now Trailers

Filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky aims her camera at her own life to capture the remarkable transformation of her deaf parents, who decided to undergo a life-changing procedure to restore their hearing after spending 65 years in silence. Chronicling her parents' experiences over their first year of having sound in their lives, Brodsky tells a deeply personal tale that moved viewers to bestow it with the Documentary Audience Award at Sundance 2007.

Reviews
ken-roberts-1

After 6 months the Audiologist said simply words with his mouth covered to the couple and asked them to relay them back to him. They could not relay back anything at all correctly - way off on all words. So they were just guessing.I wanted him to say just two words with his mouth uncovered - then cover his mouth and say them. In fact, why were they not training in this manner? The movie tells you nothing at all about the audio-linguistic training that the couple surely must have gone through ? I agree with the previous Poster about the Wife. Her constant emotional outbursts were too much and I also ended up disliking her a bit. Whenever something was not to her liking . . . waaaaahhhhh !! Constantly !! Get a grip Lady - you knew the implant was supposed to take a long time to get used to and to not expect too much.Ken

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lastliberal

This film was an audience favorite at Sundance, and it is easy to see why. I was captivated from the beginning and just could not turn away.The Taylors were 65 years old when they decided they wanted to hear for the first time. They managed to live their lives successfully (he is responsible for TTY) and raise three children, but they wanted to do more.They decided to get cochlear implants, and this film is the road to that operation, and how they adjusted to hearing. It is a feel-good film, not for any magical ending, but for our sharing in the lives of these two people and the love they had for each other.If you need some inspiration in your life, then this is the film to see.

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policelia

I have a daughter with a cochlear implant. Many of the difficulties portrayed in the film brought back memories of my own family's experience. It is unfortunate that the parents of the film maker received the implant at a later age than my daughter so were not able to get the most from the cochlear implant. Still the film adds insight into the enormous role hearing has in our lives including focusing on the important sounds and ignoring the other sounds. It is something most people take for granted and do not fully understand. The film maker really did a fine job in exploring these subtle insights and deserves high praise. I recommend it for all hearing impaired families as well as those who have been part of a relationship with a hearing impaired person. Mr. Holland's Opus explore many of these issues.

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ArizWldcat

We saw this film at Sundance 2007, and it was one of the best we saw this year! What a fascinating story about Paul and Sally Taylor, the filmmaker's parents. They were both in their mid 60s and had lived their entire lives as deaf people, when they decided to get cochlear implants. This film followed their journey from the decision to get the surgery to the after effects. I was touched by the relationship between these two very special people. Their daughter, Irene Taylor Brodsky, did a phenomenal job portraying all the emotions involved and all the difficulties they encountered. This story will stay with me for a long time. Even if you don't have anyone you're close to who is deaf, this movie will affect you. I highly recommend it.

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