Land of Silence and Darkness

Editor's Take

Herzog's early portrait follows Fini Straubinger, deaf and blind since adolescence, as she reaches toward others sealed in the same silence. The film enters a world mediated entirely by touch, and finds in it a strange, hard-won poetry rather than pity. It is patient, unsentimental, and among the most humane works in his catalogue.

Werner Herzog's Land of Silence and Darkness follows Fini Straubinger, a woman deaf and blind since her teens, who has devoted her life to reaching others living in the same isolation. Through her patient work the film enters a world without sight or sound, conveyed by touch and extraordinary human connection. Herzog finds startling poetry in his subjects and their efforts to communicate. Tender and profound, it remains one of his most humane early documentaries. Free to watch in HD on Dr Documentary.

Courtesy of Godburn on YouTube. Watch on YouTube ↗

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