Land of Silence and Darkness (1971)

Through examining Fini Straubinger, an old woman who has been deaf and blind since adolescence, and her work on behalf of other deaf and blind people, this film shows how the deaf and blind... See full summary »

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog

Stars:

Fini Straubinger, M. Baaske, Elsa Fehrer

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Fini Straubinger	...	Herself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
M. Baaske
Elsa Fehrer	...	Herself
Heinrich Fleischmann
Rolf Illig	...	Narrator (voice)
Vladimir Kokol
Resi Mittermeier	...	Herself

Storyline

Through examining Fini Straubinger, an old woman who has been deaf and blind since adolescence, and her work on behalf of other deaf and blind people, this film shows how the deaf and blind struggle to understand and accept a world from which they are almost wholly isolated.

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Plot Keywords:

deaf | blind | new german cinema | monkey | elephant | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

22 October 2002 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Land of Silence and Darkness

Filming Locations:

Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Referat für Filmgeschichte,Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Was ich bin sind meine Filme - Teil 2... nach 30 Jahren (2010)

User Reviews

Heavy insight into the land of nothingness

Land of Silence is a really great documentary, one of Herzog's best I must say. His other documentaries are a bit uneven, which his movies are not. But this one, as well as his recent "Little Dieter Needs to Fly", are amongst the most moving documentaries I've ever seen. And they are still unique, Werner Herzog's personal traits can be seen everywhere. The transcendent landscapes, pure human beings, humour, it's all there.

The text on the back cover explains the movie very well:

"Some who live in this land have learned to speak, though they communicate with each other by touch language: what they say comes from the most profound depths of human experience, and is often startingly beautiful and exiting. This is not a depressing movie at all. Neither is it a movie for voyeurs of the grotesque. As Anita Earle writes, 'It is, rather, a testament from another plane of existence'"

At some points in this movie I laughed. The camera often stays very long on lonely, depressing people who spend their days either sitting or lying down. But it wasn't meant to be comedy, it is a way for me to step back. It is a very 'close' picture, it really gets to you. You're thinking "Jesus", and you want to react. And still, it is an artwork.