Sound and Fury (2000)

If you could make your deaf child hear, would you? Academy Award-nominated Sound and Fury follows the intimate, heart-rending tale of the Artinians, an extended family with deaf and hearing... See full summary »

Director:

Josh Aronson

Stars:

Jaime Leigh Allen, Jemma Braham, Freeda Cat

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jaime Leigh Allen	...	(voice)
Jemma Braham	...	(voice)
Freeda Cat	...	(voice)
Scott Davidson	...	Peter Artinian (voice)
Ruthanne Gereghty	...	(voice)
John Griffin	...	(voice)
Barbara Herel	...	(voice)
David Jacobs	...	(voice)
Karl Katz	...	(voice)
John Kaufman	...	(voice)
Ann Lenane	...	(voice)
Phillip Namanworth	...	(voice)
Veronica Nash	...	(voice)
Saul Nathan-Kazis	...	(voice)
Allison Weisberg	...	(voice)

Storyline

If you could make your deaf child hear, would you? Academy Award-nominated Sound and Fury follows the intimate, heart-rending tale of the Artinians, an extended family with deaf and hearing members across three generations. Together they confront a technological device that can help the deaf to hear but may also threaten deaf culture - and their bonds with each other. For Peter Artinian and his wife, both of whom are deaf, a surgical ear implant for their five-year-old daughter Heather means a choice between two worlds - an unfamiliar hearing world and the deaf world, a robust culture in its own right united by a uniquely visual and artistic language. Heather Artinian - precocious, vivacious, and avidly curious about implant surgery - is caught between her deaf parents and her hearing grandparents, as they argue passionately about her future. The debate is sometimes silent, but by no means quiet. When all is done, Sound and Fury speaks volumes about the choices we make and the battles...

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Plot Keywords:

deaf | hearing | sound | implant | deaf parent | 

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Taglines:

If you could make your deaf children hear, would you do it?

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Next Wave Films

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

21 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Som e Fúria

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,104, 29 October 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$113,512, 18 March 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aronson Film Associates,FilmFour,Public Policy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Peter asks Nancy (the girl with the cochlear implant from the deaf family) if she socializes more with deaf or hearing, the voice-over says, "Mostly deaf people." However, she is actually signing, "Grandma and grandpa."

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Alternate Versions

A 60-minute version of this film is available from the Filmaker's Library.

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday
(uncredited)
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill

User Reviews

Told by an idiot signifying nothing

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more; it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

MacBeth, v. iii.

Sound and fury is as robust a movie as I can recall having ever seen. It speaks heartily of life and of the dilemmas and difficult decisions we all face. It confronts modernity and the extinction of culture. This film speaks of decisions made that are incomprehensible to other members of the same family. It speaks of steps that are superficially modest but whose consequences are mammoth. These are the decisions that we make daily and may eventually destroy human life on this rock. Sound and fury asks each of us in a soft voice if we are part of the problem or the solution. It is a moving picture.