Very Cool!!!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This film was an audience favorite at Sundance, and it is easy to see why. I was captivated from the beginning and just could not turn away.The Taylors were 65 years old when they decided they wanted to hear for the first time. They managed to live their lives successfully (he is responsible for TTY) and raise three children, but they wanted to do more.They decided to get cochlear implants, and this film is the road to that operation, and how they adjusted to hearing. It is a feel-good film, not for any magical ending, but for our sharing in the lives of these two people and the love they had for each other.If you need some inspiration in your life, then this is the film to see.

I have a daughter with a cochlear implant. Many of the difficulties portrayed in the film brought back memories of my own family's experience. It is unfortunate that the parents of the film maker received the implant at a later age than my daughter so were not able to get the most from the cochlear implant. Still the film adds insight into the enormous role hearing has in our lives including focusing on the important sounds and ignoring the other sounds. It is something most people take for granted and do not fully understand. The film maker really did a fine job in exploring these subtle insights and deserves high praise. I recommend it for all hearing impaired families as well as those who have been part of a relationship with a hearing impaired person. Mr. Holland's Opus explore many of these issues.

The very first thing that turns me off from documentaries are biased perspectives. The second turn-off is overly emotional displays meant to endear the viewer to the character. Unfortunately, this documentary uses generous amounts of both.The fact the director is the daughter of couple probably wasn't a good idea to begin with. I felt that she was enthralled with her mother's sensitivity and she was fixated on filming her tantrums and tears. I personally found all the moodiness repugnant and hated her by the end. I was more interested in the father and his scientific accomplishments, but was disappointed by the director's passing reference to him. Instead I was fed more mommy tears and wailing.The was the Sundance audience award winner for documentary, and I thought it wasn't a good reflection on their taste. Awful, awful, awful!!!

We saw this film at Sundance 2007, and it was one of the best we saw this year! What a fascinating story about Paul and Sally Taylor, the filmmaker's parents. They were both in their mid 60s and had lived their entire lives as deaf people, when they decided to get cochlear implants. This film followed their journey from the decision to get the surgery to the after effects. I was touched by the relationship between these two very special people. Their daughter, Irene Taylor Brodsky, did a phenomenal job portraying all the emotions involved and all the difficulties they encountered. This story will stay with me for a long time. Even if you don't have anyone you're close to who is deaf, this movie will affect you. I highly recommend it.