CODA
Reviews
Manuel São Bento
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com I know Sundance is one of those festivals that carry dozens of impressive, impactful films from writer-directors that really throw themselves into the art of filmmaking and storytelling. I anticipated being blown away by many movies that I knew nothing about or didn't recognize the crew and cast involved. I expected some films to emotionally impact me so much that I'd save them close to my heart until the very end of the year. With this said, I was unbelievably far from imagining that the very first viewing would be a heavy contender for my absolute favorite movie of the entire festival. CODA (Child Of Deaf Adults) is the first film I watch by Siân Heder, and after this session, I can't wait to see what she did so far and what she's going to do in the future. The clearly interesting premise is developed through a much more emotional narrative than I expected. From rich visual storytelling to exceptional use of sign language, Heder is able to capture something unique and deeply important to transmit to the audience and to today's society. The world was fortunate enough to get Sound of Metal last year, and CODA reinforces the essential message that being deaf must not be seen as a massive disability or a brutal handicap. As the movie cleverly communicates through its impeccable screenplay, having some sort of "limitation" doesn't automatically characterize someone as weird, different, or that the respective family members don't love each other as much or more than the so-called "normal" families. Except for a somewhat insignificant love relationship featuring the main character (that could have brought up an entirely different, unnecessary, and even distracting topic to the film's central, vital themes), I was incredibly invested in every single storyline. In fact, I find every interaction within the deaf family much more compelling and captivating than any other dialogue in the movie, and this is mostly due to the amazing performances from the cast. Leaving the protagonist to the end, Daniel Durant (Leo Rossi, brother) and Marlee Matlin (Jackie Rossi, mother) are great as supporting characters, but Troy Kotsur (Frank Rossi, father) and Eugenio Derbez (Bernardo Villalobos, music teacher) literally left me in tears with their heartfelt displays. I could feel the outstanding commitment to their roles, and I'm delighted that Bernardo Villalobos isn't just another stereotypical, cliche, hysterical choir adult. However, the biggest praise in my bag must go to powerful glue that holds everything together, elevating the whole film to a whole other level: Emilia Jones as the only hearing member of the family, Ruby Rossi. First of all, I love music, and Pentatonix is actually my favorite group (acapella or not), so hearing so many wonderful voices singing together would always be a massive plus for CODA in my review. Nevertheless, not only Jones' voice is sumptuously heartwarming, but her performance has everything an actor needs to receive acting nominations. I can't remember the last time I was fully invested in a single character in such an emotionally powerful manner, and Jones is definitely a major reason. A final praise to Paula Huidobro's visually grabbing camera work and Marius de Vries, who composed the movie's subtle yet efficient score and who I'm guessing had a hand in the song choices. Either way, terrific job. CODA may very well end up as my favorite film of the 2021's edition of the Sundance Film Festival, and it will undoubtedly become a must-watch movie when it's available worldwide. Siân Heder offers her impeccable direction and beautifully written screenplay, which is packed with emotionally powerful moments that left me tearing up for the last forty-five minutes. Boasting an educative, meaningful message regarding the deaf community and what our society perceives as a tremendous handicap/disability, the characteristic visual storytelling and the captivating interactions within the deaf family prove to be incredibly investing, deeply elevating the overall piece. With the help of heartfelt, genuine performances from the supporting cast (mainly Troy Kotsur and Eugenio Derbez), Emilia Jones takes off and lands one of my favorite female performances in a long, long time. A tear-inducing, thoughtful film that I hope will conquer audiences all around the world. Rating: A
Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots
I cannot think of one person to whom I wouldn’t recommend “CODA,” an uplifting, emotionally rich movie from writer / director Sian Heder. This crowd-pleasing film is one of the first real gems to debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and I’m still riding the wave of good vibes hours later. Being a teenager is difficult enough, but try being Ruby (Emilia Jones). The 17-year-old is the only hearing member of a deaf family, and she spends most of her spare time working on her parents’ (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur) fishing boat along with her older brother, Leo (Daniel Durant). and serving as their sign language interpreter. Ruby juggles her family responsibilities, her schoolwork, and a newfound passion for her high school’s choir club (and her cute duet partner, Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo)). When her music teacher (Eugenio Derbez) hears that special something in Ruby’s voice, he encourages her to think about a life beyond fishing and supports her in applying to a prestigious music school. This unfairly puts the responsibility of the household on Ruby’s shoulders, and she must choose between keeping her family afloat or pursuing her dreams. This very funny and very honest story has a universal appeal, with charming performances and a likeable family that you’ll want to spend time with. Kotsur and Matlin are terrific as Ruby’s randy parents, and Derbez brings a genuine charisma to his role as the young woman’s mentor. The cast includes three deaf actors, so much of the dialogue is expressed in sign language — and everything about that feels normal. This film goes a long way in shattering stereotypes about people who are hearing impaired, and that is to be commended. Heder has created a film that’s filled with insight, refreshingly direct dialogue, and a fully developed cast of characters that all add up to solid storytelling all around. Not only is this a coming-of-age story for Ruby, but it’s one for her family, too. The four of them struggle through the disappointment that life throws their way, hoping to work together to emerge stronger than ever. Heartfelt but never corny, “CODA” is a really special movie about unwavering support, unconditional love, and what it means to be a family.
Giovanni
**Full Review and Analysis at SpotaMovie.com** Produced and released by Apple in 2021, CODA is an inspiring movie. It delivers music and voice to deaf people, highlighting important topics. **The Story:** Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. They run a small business as fishermen, and she helps and supports them, mainly translating everything to her family in the deaf signs language. As a result, she splits her life between her family and her dreams. Ruby discovers an incredible talent, something that makes her feel alive and happy. But the two worlds are not easily manageable for her because society and her parents are not ready to understand each other. Ruby’s role becomes crucial for her family, especially when a new law threatens their business and future. Therefore to keep her dreams moving forward, she will need to fight, sacrifice and change the reality around her story. Fortunately, Ruby meets an incredible character during her journey and something powerful will happen. It’s an engaging story. **Opinion**: It’s a film of revolution, passion, family and friendships. It teaches us about integration and shows us the difficulty deaf people face every day. The pieces of music are perfect, and the film has pace and rhythm. The performance delivered by the actors is incredible and makes the movie more engaging. It's a must watch in our opinion because it makes us better person.
CinemaSerf
Whilst I did quite enjoy this, I am struggling to see what all the fuss is about. Emilia Jones is "Ruby", a talented young singer who is keen to attend music college. Her family live in a maritime town where the local fishermen are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. When her father's business looks doomed, she has to choose between staying at home or fulfilling her dream. What makes the film interesting is that she is the only one in her family who can hear. Her parents (Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin) as well as her brother "Leo" (Daniel Durant) are all deaf. Whilst that certainly adds an extra dimension to the narrative, the story itself is really nothing much to write home about. Their deafness is in no way the cause of the family woes, and much of the narrative is taken up with this family struggling to survive the decline of their livelihood, whilst she has boyfriend issues and her demanding music teacher (Eugenio Derbez) is constantly challenging to do her best. It does feature an haunting version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" and, on occasion, we are presented with an audio appreciation from her family's perspective which does resonate well, giving us an inkling of how sounds sound (or not) to people who are deaf. It is a fine looking production, is enjoyable to watch and the dynamic between the parents and their daughter is frequently amusing and touching. It ought to raise awareness, but as a piece of cinema is nothing particularly special.
badelf
Admittedly, there is nothing brilliantly creative about the script, which is why I gave it only 8 stars. The elevator story: a teenager trying to find, and assert, herself in the world and her family, who itself is struggling to remain commercially viable in an industry that's been devastated by commercialism and global warming. The wrinkle in the story is that the protagonist's parents and brother are all deaf. (CODA = Child of Deaf Adults.) That's where ho-hum departs, and I have two things to say about it: First, this film deserves all the accolades and awards it's received. Second, this may the first time I've known a remake to exceed by far the original. The acting from nearly everyone in the cast is unbelievably great. The production values are fantastic. The film is incredibly hilarious (thanks to brilliant performance by Troy Kotsur), and also, surprisingly emotional. In what could have been "just another meh coming-of-age story", Emilia Jones worked super hard to create a character that draws the audience in. To Siân Heder's credit, everything about this production shines.
Movie Recommendation
Belfast2021-11-12Buddy is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.More...
King Richard2021-11-18The story of how Richard Williams served as a coach to his daughters Venus and Serena, who will soon become two of the most legendary tennis players in history.More...
Drive My Car2021-08-18Yusuke Kafuku, a stage actor and director, still unable, after two years, to cope with the loss of his beloved wife, accepts to direct Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There he meets Misaki, an introverted young woman, appointed to drive his car. In between rides, secrets from the past and heartfelt confessions will be unveiled.More...
The Lost Daughter2021-12-15A woman's seaside vacation takes a dark turn when her obsession with a young mother forces her to confront secrets from her past.More...
Licorice Pizza2021-11-26The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.More...
Forever Out of My League2022-01-31Marta may be an orphan, and she may be affected by a lethal illness, yet she is the most positive person one can meet. She wants a boy to fall for her. Not any boy - the most handsome of them all. One day, she may have found her match.More...
On the Count of Three2022-05-13Val has reached a place where he feels the only way out is to end things. But he considers himself a bit of a failure—his effectiveness lacking—so he figures he could use some help. As luck would have it, Val’s best friend, Kevin, is recovering from a failed suicide attempt, so he seems like the perfect partner for executing this double suicide plan. But before they go, they have some unfinished business to attend to.More...
Robin Robin2021-10-09A bird raised by mice begins to question where she belongs and sets off on a daring journey of self-discovery.More...
Master Cheng2019-09-27Cheng, 45, a restaurant owner from China, has travelled with his young son halfway around the world to a remote village in Finland. His wife died recently in an accident, and Cheng wanted to have a break from everything by traveling with his son to see an old Finnish friend who lives on a farm in the countryside of Finland. It’s the most remote place Cheng can imagine with endless forests, thousands of lakes, a country with entire population of one-fifth of Cheng’s home town, Shanghai.More...
Parallel Mothers2021-10-08Two unmarried women who have become pregnant by accident and are about to give birth meet in a hospital room: Janis, in her late-thirties, unrepentant and happy; Ana, a teenager, remorseful and frightened.More...
Flee2021-06-17Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he’s kept hidden for 20 years.More...
Spencer2021-11-04During her Christmas holidays with the royal family at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, Diana decides to leave her marriage to Prince Charles.More...
Nightmare Alley2021-12-02An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.More...
West Side Story2021-12-08Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.More...
Compartment No. 62021-10-29A young Finnish woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a larger than life Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment No. 6 to face major truths about human connection.More...
Respect2021-08-12The rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom.More...
The Power of the Dog2021-10-25A domineering but charismatic rancher wages a war of intimidation on his brother's new wife and her teen son, until long-hidden secrets come to light.More...
Lamb2021-08-12An Icelandic couple live with their herd of sheep on a beautiful but remote farm. When they discover a mysterious newborn on their land, they decide to keep it and raise it as their own. This unexpected development and the prospects of a new family brings them much joy before ultimately destroying them.More...
The Hand of God2021-11-24In 1980s Naples, Italy, an awkward Italian teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.More...
On the Rocks2020-10-02Faced with sudden doubts about her marriage, a young New York mother teams up with her larger-than-life playboy father to tail her husband.More...
Similar Movies
Levenslang en gelukki...
2014-07-01In a village where people and fairy tale figures live next to each other, a few goats have been murdered. A young inspector leads the investigation. But nothing is what it seems to be.From Scotland with Lo...
2014-06-22Made entirely of Scottish film archive, a journey into our collective past, the film explores universal themes of love, loss, resistance, migration, work and play. Ordinary people, some long since dead, their names and identities largely forgotten, appear shimmering from the depth of the vaults to take a starring role. Brilliantly edited together, these silent individuals become composite characters, who emerge to tell us their stories, given voice by King Creosote's poetic music and lyricsCadillac Records
2008-12-05The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.Fia og klovnene
2003-10-24Fia is a wise and somewhat tough 8-year-old girl. Perhaps a cousin of Pippi Longstocking, only a little more vulnerable. Like Pippi, and all other children, she wants to be big and strong, with the power and opportunity to make the world the way she wants it to be. Fia has a difficult role as a kind of "mother" to her mother, a mother who is unable to cope with everyday life. But in the yard opposite lives the magician Bustric, and he becomes Fia's anchor in life. Bustric is a little grown up, but very much a child, and he saves Fia from being seen as a liar and a dreamer in the new class she has to start in.Real Genius
1985-08-07When teenage geniuses Mitch Taylor and Chris Knight, working on an advanced laser project, learn that the military wants to use it as a weapon, they decide to thwart the plan.Same Time Next Week
2017-08-05Sara deals with her grief by trying to complete her late husband’s bucket list. Injuring herself on one of the tasks leads her to meet Dr. Ryan. A widower himself, Ryan begins to help Sara complete the bucket list. The two get close and Sara doesn’t want to betray her husband’s memory, so she stops seeing Ryan. However, Ryan doesn’t give up and helps Sara realize that everyone deserves a second chance at loveYellow Tomato
2020-01-14Tomato plant is growing at a school. Nobody knows where it's from, but they all give water and wish every different thing to the plant. Will they be able to meet the tomato?Stealing Beauty
1996-03-29Lucy Harmon, an American teenager is arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to be sculpted by a family friend who lives in a beautiful villa. Lucy visited there four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with an Italian boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted.Sagan
2008-06-11France, 1950s. From the Quartier Latin to Saint-Tropez via New York, a young Parisienne becomes the icon of a whole generation. In 1954, 19-year-old Francoise Sagan shot to fame with her first novel, Bonjour Tristesse. Flamboyant, scandalous and underrated, Sagan lived her life at the furthest edge of excess. She won and lost fortunes at the roulette table, bought and crashed superb sports cars, drank, danced and partied, leaving a trail of lovers in her wake.In the Company of Men...
1997-03-28Two business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.Bhaji on the Beach
1993-09-11A group of South Asian women try but cannot escape their problems on a day trip to a British beach resort.All You've Got
2006-05-20Three friends' love for volleyball is tested to the limit when their school burns to the ground and they are forced to join a rival school in order to win the national championship.Beau Travail
2000-05-03Foreign Legion officer Galoup recalls his once glorious life, training troops in the Gulf of Djibouti. His existence there was happy, strict and regimented, until the arrival of a promising young recruit, Sentain, plants the seeds of jealousy in Galoup's mind.Woman on Top
2000-09-22Set to the intoxicating rhythms of Brazil, "Woman on Top" is a spicy, sexy comedy about the magic of food, love and music. Meet Isabella, a sultry enchantress born with the special gift of melting the palates and hearts of men everywhere. When she decides to break free from her rocky marriage and the stifling kitchen of her husband's restaurant in Brazil, she spirits off to San Francisco in pursuit of her dreams of a real culinary career.Puberty Blues
1981-12-10Two teenage surf chicks from the southern suburbs of Sydney ingratiate themselves with a new group of boys.The Stone Angel
2007-09-12The feisty aging Hagar Shipley has lived an unconventional life. Her rebellious heart has always ruled and her choices have put her at odds with family and friends. Faced with her own mortality, and desperate to find solace, she goes on the run. In both the past and the present, she is forced to come to terms with the pain and pleasure, the disappointments and the exhilarations of her life.The Rookie
2002-03-25Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization. The bet proves incentive enough for the team, and they go from worst to first, making it to state for the first time in the history of the school. Jim, forced to live up to his end of the deal, is nearly laughed off the try-out field--until he gets onto the mound, where he confounds the scouts (and himself) by clocking successive 98 mph fastballs, good enough for a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jim's still got a lot of pitches to throw before he makes it to The Show, but with his big-league dreams revived, there's no telling where he could go.My Brilliant Life
2014-09-03A couple of teenagers have a son who suffers from progeria, a rare genetic disorder which makes one age exponentially faster than normal. 16 years later, the child has the body of an 80 year old in the final days of his life writing a book about his parents' love story.Shark in the Head
2004-06-01Shark in the Head unfolds into a stunning cinematic powerhouse that combines comedy and drama for a touching story about how we influence the people we meet while being profoundly affected ourselves by the colors they bring to our own lives.Fair Play
2014-03-06In the 1980s, Anna, a Czech sprinter, starts training for the Olympics. After she collapses during training, she learns she is being given steroids and decides to stop using them until her mother helps the coaches give them to her.