Product Description

"In this astonishing documentary about the world of the deaf-blind, acclaimed director Werner Herzog (Signs of Life, Aguirre: The Wrath of God) explores the life of Fini Straubinger, a remarkable and kind-hearted 56-year-old deaf and blind woman who has dedicated her life to helping the similarly afflicted.

From their first flight on an airplane to a day at a petting-zoo, Herzog captures the joys and struggles of those who have been isolated from the world around them.

Land of Silence and Darkness is a tribute to the triumphant nature of the human spirit and a glimpse into an existence so intense and abstract that at times it seems to reach great lyrical heights. "

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72157 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-07-05
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 81 minutes

Customer Reviews

Very touching portrait of the deaf-blind.
Werner Herzog is famous for his movies about obssesive maniacs (Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo, etc.). However, it turns out that he has a great sensibility for documentary films. Although this movie is not for everyone -it has a very slow narrative- it is a very important testimony of those people who have lived in the land of darkness (blindness) and silence (deafness). It shows, amongst many other things, how these people live, how they "see" the world (notice how language falls apart here)and how they communicate. A word of advice: there is a shot of a poor child who was born deaf and blind and lived in isolation for several years (imagine a person who has not developed linguistic skills at all). That is one frightening and sordid scene that will give you nightmares.

I have a weird obsession with documentaries and love this film; however, if you're not into this genre you may want to rent the dvd first.

"I'm no different from you"
I'm no different from you is a reccuring line you'll here throughout the film as Fini Straubinger (who I guess would come closest to being the protagonist) tries to connect with other deaf & blind handicaps. Yet that same line is something that struck me strongly as I noticed how certain myths and preconceptions about the deaf & blind were brought to light by the film. They were truly no different from you or I despite the handicap they had. In fact the only thing that really held these people back from living normally was society and even family. Overall the film was very informative to say at the least, it's best to watch this viewing experience brought by Werner Herzog yourself and see a different side to the Land of Darkness and Silence.