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Land of Silence and Darkness

Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit (Land of Silence and Darkness)

1971

Werner Herzog

Documentary, Self: Fini Straubinger

7.5

452

Documentary Through examining Fini Straubinger, an old woman who has been deaf and blind since adolescence, and her work on behalf of other deaf and blind people, this film shows how the deaf and blind struggle to understand and accept a world from which they are almost wholly isolated.

	Media	Author	Review
		The New York Times	"Herzog, one of the most talented of the new young German film directors, will one day make a movie that's as interesting to sit through as to argue about later. 'Land of Silence and Darkness' is not it."
		Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"A remarkable, unaccountable film, both cold and moving."
		Eric Henderson Slant	"Watching and hearing Fini treat her patients (...) compels you, hypnotizes you (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Time Out	"A stunning documentary (...) Herzog's treatment is never voyeuristic or sentimental, but sensuous and overwhelmingly moving"
		David Parkinson Radio Times	"This is more a celebration of sensorial courage and inquisitiveness than a plea for pity (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"While 'Land' may not detail a physical journey like so many of his most beloved works, it is nonetheless a journey of its own kind."
		Richard Eder The New York Times	"One of Herzog's most extraordinary films"

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