The recent Best Picture winner Coda follows the story of Ruby, a teenage daughter of Deaf parents who is caught between staying at home to help with the family fishing business and going away to pursue her passion: music, which is one of the most surprise discoveries from this awards season. Not only has the film brought us to outstanding talents like Troy Kotsur and given veterans like Marlee Matlin great opportunities, but it has also demonstrated the necessity of presenting tales about disabled people. Hopefully, the success of this film will lead to additional films like it being more common, but in the meantime, enjoy these 7 motivational flicks.
1. Sound Of Metal (2019)
Director- Darius Marder
Ruben, a metal drummer, has been living for the moment for the past four years, keeping his inner demons at bay by devoting himself to art. Ruben discovers that his hearing is progressively fading while on tour with his lead singer/girlfriend, Lou. He hesitantly chooses to join a small deaf community managed by Joe, a sympathetic Vietnam War veteran, as his world is turned upside down by his abrupt hearing loss and numbing terror paired with violent denial takes over. Ruben must now find some solid foundation, realise that being deaf is not a hindrance, and that deafness is not something that can be fixed.
2. Children Of A Lesser God (1986)
Director- Randa Haines
James is a new teacher at a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students who is dedicated to assisting deaf individuals in learning to communicate. Sarah, the school’s fiery young janitor, who was formerly one of their top pupils, piques his interest right away. He is adamant that he can teach her how to communicate more effectively through lip-reading and improved speech, and he pursues her. Sarah must make difficult decisions regarding her future once the two become romantically linked.
3. The Belier Family (2014)
Director- Eric Lartigau
Rodolphe and Gigi Bélier are regular individuals who are married, have two children, and work on their farm. Ordinary folks? Well, almost, because three of them are deaf: Dad, Mom, and their son Quentin. Paula, the boy’s older sister, is not one of them. Her music teacher notices her wonderful voice as well as her ability to converse. He invites her to take the entrance exam for the Maîtrise de Radio France, a Paris-based vocal elite choir. Her parents, who rely on her to be their eyes and ears in the outside world, are devastated by the news. Paula, who despises the concept of betraying her parents and brother, finds herself in a difficult situation.
4. The Intouchables (2011)
Director(s)- Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
In Paris, the aristocratic and intellectual Philippe is a quadriplegic millionaire who is interviewing candidates for the position of his carer, with his red-haired secretary Magalie. Out of the blue, Driss cuts the line of candidates and brings a document from the Social Security and asks Phillipe to sign it to prove that he is seeking a job position so he can receive his unemployment benefit. Philippe challenges Driss, offering him a trial period of one month to gain experience helping him. Then Driss can decide whether he would like to stay with him or not. Driss accepts the challenge and moves to the mansion, changing the boring life of Phillipe and his employees.
5. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
Director(s)- Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz
Zak, a young man with Down syndrome, sneaks away from the nursing home where he lives to pursue his dream of being a professional wrestler by enrolling in the wrestling school The Salt Water Redneck. Tyler, a small-time bandit on the run, becomes Zak’s unusual coach and ally due to circumstances beyond their control. Together, they elude capture, drink whiskey, find God, catch fish, and persuade Eleanor, a compassionate nursing care employee with her own tale, to join them on their adventure.
6. The Sessions (2012)
Director- Ben Lewin
Mark O’Brien is a reporter for Pacific News Service and a poet in the late 1980s. He’s been in an iron lung for hours every day since polio at the age of six. After falling in love with an attendant (his marriage proposal terminates the relationship) and taking an assignment to write on the sex lives of people with disabilities, this devout Catholic confronts his sexual nature at the age of 38. He consults with his priest to see if hiring a sex surrogate is a sin. Mark employs Cheryl for up to six sessions with the priest’s blessing, with the goal of intercourse. For Mark and Cheryl, sex and intimacy lead to emotional subtlety and deep feelings. Father Brendan and two of Mark’s aides serve as sounding boards for this conversation.
7. Crip Camp (2020)
Director(s)- James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham
Teenagers with disabilities faced a future determined by isolation, prejudice, and institutionalisation in the early 1970s. Camp Jened, a run-down “for the handicapped” camp in the Catskills, blew those walls down. Jened was their carefree utopia, a location where campers could engage in summertime sports, smoke and makeout sessions, and feel fulfilled as human beings. Friends from Camp Jened believed that disruption and unity might achieve life-changing accessibility for millions as they went West to Berkeley, California, a promised place for a growing and diverse disability community.
