Marie's Story

Comparisons with The Miracle Worker are inevitable for Gallic filmmaker Jean-Pierre Améris's historical drama set at the pioneering Larnay Institute, a school for the deaf that was managed by nuns in 19th-century France. One of the sisters, Marguerite (Isabelle Carré), is moved to help virtually unmanageable young blind-and-deaf girl Marie (deaf actress Ariana Rivoire), who is regarded by all as a hopeless case. Despite her own fragile health, Marguerite is determined to overcome Marie's feral behavior and unlock her latent intelligence and ability to communicate and function (the breakthrough moment with Helen Keller famously came with signing the word “water”; here it's “knife”). A smart, emotional drama that still yanks the viewer's heartstrings as effectively as any Hollywood tearjerker, this is highly recommended. (C. Cassady)