Land of Silence and Darkness
Leaving Soon
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1h 24m
Leaving August 1
Directed by Werner Herzog | 85 mins | 1971
After a childhood accident caused her an eventual loss of vision at 15 and hearing at 18, Fini Straubinger spent the next 30 years of life bedridden. But by age 56, when she became the subject of Herzog’s documentary feature, she had found her inner strength and purpose, drawing on her past experiences to help guide others with similar afflictions. This poignant film follows her on her missions while also providing insight into the alternate forms of communication used by the deaf and blind, and the elemental joys they find in interactions with non-human forms of life like plants and animals—as well as the damage caused from such extreme isolation. Herzog considers Land of Silence and Darkness an essential piece in his oeuvre, saying “[It’s] a film particularly close to my heart. If I had not made it there would be a great gap in my existence.”
Up Next in Leaving Soon
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Lessons of Darkness
Leaving August 1
Directed by Werner Herzog | 54 mins | 1992
Saddam Hussein ordered the withdrawal from Kuwait at the end of February, 1991, bringing the Gulf War to a nominal close—but the Iraqi troops would wreak a trail of destruction in their retreat: implementing a scorched earth policy, the... -
Little Dieter Needs To Fly
Leaving August 1
Directed by Werner Herzog | 77 mins | 1997
In the German-born U.S. Navy pilot Dieter Dengler, Herzog seems to have met his match: Dengler too is a wily, tenacious adventurer, a skilled raconteur-philosopher, and a dreamer of dangerous dreams. This gripping documentary has Dengle... -
Love at First Fight
Leaving August 1
Directed by Thomas Cailley | 98 mins | 2014
Adèle Haenel stars as tomboy survivalist Madeleine in this Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection, a rom-com that packs a punch. Pursuing his crush on her, the listless Arnaud (Kévin Azaïs) impulsively enlists in the military boot camp ...
