Marie Heurtin is based on the true story of Soeur Marguerite, a sister who lived in a covenant in the 1800, in France, and Marie Heurtin, a young girl who was born blind and deaf. She grew with almost no education, and at the age of ten, her parents brought her to the covenant les Filles de la Sagesse, which was specialized in taking care of deaf girls and teaching them sign language. However, Marie proved much of a challenge because she was also blind.
The film relates the early life of Marie Heurtin, who was taught sign language by the kind and determined sister Marguerite. Although Marie is very difficult to teach to, Soeur Marguerite's perseverance and the bound they build together is extremely touching. The movie doesn't have a lot of spoken dialogue, in fact most of the dialogue is through sign language and is intentionally not subtitled, because we are meant to feel it; the words are not important, we can figure out their meanings just by looking at the emotions the characters convey to us through the screen. Isabelle Carré and Ariana Rivoire's performances are poignant and real.
The only thing I found disappointing is that the movie only shows us a very small portion of Marie Heurtin's life, and makes it seem like Soeur Marguerite only taught her for about a year or so, when in reality, she taught her sign language for around ten years of her life, and Marie was 25 years old when her teacher passed, not 10 or so like in the movie. Then Marie Heurtin at her turn taught sign language to many other girls, including her young sister who was also blind and deaf. I think it was a mistake to omit her later years from the movie, especially since it runs a little long. Seeing her grow up would have been a real plus to the movie, so that's a missed opportunity.
Nonetheless, it's a beautiful and heart-warming movie that shows us the importance of what love and interaction between people can bring into our lives, and the power that being able to convey feelings really gives us.
The film relates the early life of Marie Heurtin, who was taught sign language by the kind and determined sister Marguerite. Although Marie is very difficult to teach to, Soeur Marguerite's perseverance and the bound they build together is extremely touching. The movie doesn't have a lot of spoken dialogue, in fact most of the dialogue is through sign language and is intentionally not subtitled, because we are meant to feel it; the words are not important, we can figure out their meanings just by looking at the emotions the characters convey to us through the screen. Isabelle Carré and Ariana Rivoire's performances are poignant and real.
The only thing I found disappointing is that the movie only shows us a very small portion of Marie Heurtin's life, and makes it seem like Soeur Marguerite only taught her for about a year or so, when in reality, she taught her sign language for around ten years of her life, and Marie was 25 years old when her teacher passed, not 10 or so like in the movie. Then Marie Heurtin at her turn taught sign language to many other girls, including her young sister who was also blind and deaf. I think it was a mistake to omit her later years from the movie, especially since it runs a little long. Seeing her grow up would have been a real plus to the movie, so that's a missed opportunity.
Nonetheless, it's a beautiful and heart-warming movie that shows us the importance of what love and interaction between people can bring into our lives, and the power that being able to convey feelings really gives us.