Sound and Fury: Movie & DVD Review (2000)

(Originally published 2000)

Josh Aronson’s provocative, Academy Award-nominated documentary, “Sound and Fury,” offers an intense, heated debate on the pros and cons of the cochlear ear implant--a device that has the controversial ability to allow a deaf person to hear.

To those who can hear, it might come as a surprise to learn that there would be any controversy or debate over giving someone the ability to hear. But as this powerful, emotionally devastating film shows, there are two staunchly opposed sides to the issue, each of which is passionate in explaining either why the implant is crucial--or how it has the ability to wipe out a culture all together.

The film follows two related families from Long Island, N.Y: Chris Artinian and his wife, Mari, each of whom can hear, and their twin infant sons, one of whom was born deaf; and Chris’ brother, Peter, his wife, Nita, and their three children, including 6-year-old Heather, all of whom were born deaf.

Chris and Peter’s mother and father can hear, but Mari’s mother and father cannot. As the film opens, the entire Artinian family is about to come to terms with what it means to be deaf when the merits of the cochlear implant are weighed and exhaustively considered in kitchens, backyard barbecues, living rooms and centers for the deaf.

Fear underscores everything here, but to Aronson’s credit, his cameras never get in the way of the drama as it builds or the rage as it flows.Some might feel a documentary about the issues surrounding ear implants wouldn’t be gripping, but Aronson has mined a subject so explosive and unearthed emotions so raw, his film is riveting. What does it mean to be deaf in a world that’s so technologically advanced deafness might one day be eradicated? Rent this excellent film to find out.

Grade: A