This penetrating short film was screened at my middle-school in the mid-70s, and to this day it continues to cross my mind. Allegedly inspired by a true event, the film denotes a lonely, withdrawn boy ridiculed by schoolmates, invisible to teachers, and mistreated at home. A complete absence of love and intermutuality gradually reduces him to "a cipher"(meaning, literally, "zero"). One early morning before school, he is finally granted a single tender mercy...he falls dead on a snowbank, released at last from his quiet suffering.
I consider this film an integral part of my upbringing. It planted a seed in my young mind, and served to pilot my conscious efforts toward being a good person, and to step forward when others are being unjustly or inhumanely treated. In the many years which have passed since I saw it, I suspect CIPHER has become stylistically dated. That said, I feel it should be remade generationally, so as to update its appeal with the ever-changing mindset of youth. The relevance of this story is eternal, and the importance of human empathy and the awareness that everyone matters can never be given too much reenforcement.
Kudos to the LDS church for funding this silent scream. Eight well-deserved stars for the film, and a zillion stars for the urgency of its purpose.
I consider this film an integral part of my upbringing. It planted a seed in my young mind, and served to pilot my conscious efforts toward being a good person, and to step forward when others are being unjustly or inhumanely treated. In the many years which have passed since I saw it, I suspect CIPHER has become stylistically dated. That said, I feel it should be remade generationally, so as to update its appeal with the ever-changing mindset of youth. The relevance of this story is eternal, and the importance of human empathy and the awareness that everyone matters can never be given too much reenforcement.
Kudos to the LDS church for funding this silent scream. Eight well-deserved stars for the film, and a zillion stars for the urgency of its purpose.