I had the pleasure of seeing this film at it's world premiere at the Keswick theater in Glenside, PA and it was well worth it. The movie itself was entertaining and captivating. The story line was good and I appreciate that it was different and didn't run as a typical movie might have. Of course that's why I like independent movies. The only sound in this film is a musical score. The rest of the movie is in subtitles for those of us who do not know the sign language that is used by the actors. I'm proud that this movie was filmed so close to home in Pennsylvania. Anthony Natale is a terrific actor. See this film! The only thing I might have liked better was the pacing of the movie. Other than that I enjoyed it.
10 Reviews
I love when hearing people are mainstreamed into the deaf world
lieberlady14 April 2008
I love when hearing people are mainstreamed into the deaf world. Watching an entire movie of people signing was an amazing experience. It's just about impossible to find movies in ASL. I've tried to find ASL presentations of fairy tales for children, but have only gotten Deaf storytellers relating the story as if they were reading a book. (Has anyone figured out yet that Deaf toddlers can't read captions on cartoons?)
I can't disagree with Mr. McGonigle's points on plot weakness. However, I've often heard film critics refer to a movie as "important." IMNSHO, there aren't a whole lot of "important" movies. This is one of them. Breaking the language barrier for an under-served group is a marvelous event. There are live plays performed in ASL, but they're not as accessible as a movie. If you don't live nearby or can't afford it, you miss out.
I hope to see many more ASL films available in the near future. Plot quality is sure to improve.
I can't disagree with Mr. McGonigle's points on plot weakness. However, I've often heard film critics refer to a movie as "important." IMNSHO, there aren't a whole lot of "important" movies. This is one of them. Breaking the language barrier for an under-served group is a marvelous event. There are live plays performed in ASL, but they're not as accessible as a movie. If you don't live nearby or can't afford it, you miss out.
I hope to see many more ASL films available in the near future. Plot quality is sure to improve.
Universal Signs is groundbreaking and thought-provoking, beautiful and touching, hopeful and inspiring.
rlrb19 May 2008
Universal Signs is groundbreaking and thought-provoking, beautiful and touching, hopeful and inspiring. The audience response was exciting and interesting. (Loved the question/answer session afterward!) We were mesmerized. At times we were so drawn into the film that we thought the actors were audibly speaking rather than signing. Director Ann Calamia and the cinematographer captured the emotions beautifully. We feel like we can understand a little more what it must be like to be deaf. We would love the opportunity to see Universal Signs again to be able to delve into all the symbolism it contains. Hopefully, it will be in theaters soon for all to appreciate!
I really enjoyed the story and the film.
katcatanakis17 April 2008
I really enjoyed the story and the film. It was very rich, complex and filled with layers (much like a painting). I really felt like I was part of the journey, and it just reminded me about how real life can be sometimes. The film captured so many of life's subtleties. The cinematography was also very engaging. I was touched by so many different emotions. I saw the film with my mom, and she thought that at one point there was sound during the rain storm. I can't remember if there was sound or if the image of rain and all of the connections actually allowed her to "hear" it even if it was silent. What happened to Andrew could happen to anyone. We all go through life for the first time and things happen that we can't ever explain. How do we go on? How do we have the courage to open our hearts again and again when opening our hearts to others can be so scary? The film really made me think and ask myself a lot of questions. It really opened my mind in so many ways. I was so happy to share that with my mom.
Fairly mediocre melodrama, apparently making a lot of its hype hinge on passing itself off as some sort of "first" in deaf cinema, although I am unsure a first what...
celliwig7 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
So I went to the Philadelphia-ish matinée last summer. It was not quite crowded but still. We had had some hyping due to knowing a person who was somehow involved with the production - we still have no idea how all told considering who this is. So yeah. I'm deaf, and admittedly young, which means I'm not impressed by a movie like Children of a Lesser God, where the appeal of a deaf actress having a main role quickly wore off as the dreadful and abusive relationship unfolded on screen, always presenting everything from the eyes of the hearing partner.
This movie at least has the advantage of being made by a deaf cineast, although it is far from the first full feature film to be so even after the silent film era ended, and even compared to what is a "love it or hate it" "deafploitation" b-movie/horror piece like Deafula, it leaves heavily to be desired.
The signing is at times disjointed, not necessarily sloppy so much as badly shot. Making the subtitles a relatively good thing even for deaf people. The soundtrack feels a bit like a gimmick - dreams in speech, absolute silence except for a musical soundtrack which mostly seems an idea to make things falsely immersing while not too jarring for hearing viewers. At the same time it perpetuates the idea that deafness is a world of absolute silence, when it tends to be far from it: sound is vibration after all, and hearing is a specialized form of touch, and a lot of what can't be heard can be felt.
On the plot, the characters are fairly uninteresting. It's mostly the story of a rather boring deaf man whose wedding was recently called off because his stepdaughter died in a moment of inattention. A lot of time is spent dwelling on it, and in the end, rather the being an interesting piece of character development, it seems simply forced, artificial. It gets pounded on us with the subtlety of an elephant stampede in a porcelain store. His former relationship is shown as relatively shallow, and his new relationship doesn't seem much less so. The thief subplot seems at best forced, at worst stupid headline pilfering. It's integrated poorly in the overall plot and seems to be an excuse to do some broken "character growth". Which, let's be fair, still leaves the characters pretty flat and lifeless.
The proselytizing girlfriend supblot also become blatantly obvious from the moment they first show a church, I'll nonetheless pretend it's a spoiler. He's a man fairly uninterested in religion, but it ends up becoming a big part of his healing process. It's vaguely implied that he converts, and quite honestly, this leaves me relatively cold. The intense proselytizing that is regularly done on the deaf community is something I've known many deaf people who are intensively uncomfortable with it, and it simply makes me queasy to see it being embraced so readily. No surprises in this movie, every little bit of plot is, basically, guessable from the first minute it is introduced: the girl is dead, the new woman will become his wife, the other elitist deaf people viewed later (basically a strawman most of the time) will get told, and he will convert. If you hoped for an artistically interesting or challenging plot, go elsewhere. There's more to deaf cinema than this tasteless stew.
This movie at least has the advantage of being made by a deaf cineast, although it is far from the first full feature film to be so even after the silent film era ended, and even compared to what is a "love it or hate it" "deafploitation" b-movie/horror piece like Deafula, it leaves heavily to be desired.
The signing is at times disjointed, not necessarily sloppy so much as badly shot. Making the subtitles a relatively good thing even for deaf people. The soundtrack feels a bit like a gimmick - dreams in speech, absolute silence except for a musical soundtrack which mostly seems an idea to make things falsely immersing while not too jarring for hearing viewers. At the same time it perpetuates the idea that deafness is a world of absolute silence, when it tends to be far from it: sound is vibration after all, and hearing is a specialized form of touch, and a lot of what can't be heard can be felt.
On the plot, the characters are fairly uninteresting. It's mostly the story of a rather boring deaf man whose wedding was recently called off because his stepdaughter died in a moment of inattention. A lot of time is spent dwelling on it, and in the end, rather the being an interesting piece of character development, it seems simply forced, artificial. It gets pounded on us with the subtlety of an elephant stampede in a porcelain store. His former relationship is shown as relatively shallow, and his new relationship doesn't seem much less so. The thief subplot seems at best forced, at worst stupid headline pilfering. It's integrated poorly in the overall plot and seems to be an excuse to do some broken "character growth". Which, let's be fair, still leaves the characters pretty flat and lifeless.
The proselytizing girlfriend supblot also become blatantly obvious from the moment they first show a church, I'll nonetheless pretend it's a spoiler. He's a man fairly uninterested in religion, but it ends up becoming a big part of his healing process. It's vaguely implied that he converts, and quite honestly, this leaves me relatively cold. The intense proselytizing that is regularly done on the deaf community is something I've known many deaf people who are intensively uncomfortable with it, and it simply makes me queasy to see it being embraced so readily. No surprises in this movie, every little bit of plot is, basically, guessable from the first minute it is introduced: the girl is dead, the new woman will become his wife, the other elitist deaf people viewed later (basically a strawman most of the time) will get told, and he will convert. If you hoped for an artistically interesting or challenging plot, go elsewhere. There's more to deaf cinema than this tasteless stew.
Universal Signs is a lesson for all!
natashasattler7 October 2009
I had learned about the making of UNIVERSAL SIGNS a few years ago during the first ripples of information that a deaf movie that would be quite unique was being filmed. I was excited at the prospect of a movie "captioned for the hearing". As a college level American Sign Language instructor, an owner of a sign language instructional company and a film aficionado I often spoke to my classes about movies with deaf actors, themes or made by deaf filmmakers. This topic sparked interest in a few of my advanced level students who chose to complete a project about this movie. Several cast and the director of UNIVERSAL SIGNS were asked to complete a survey for my students project. All obliged and were very generous with their responses and wrote how extremely enthusiastic they were to have made this important and amazing film.
UNIVERSAL SIGNS transcends the need for spoken language. And quite frankly, the facial expressions and body language of the actors almost makes it unnecessary, at times, for sign language. The casting of actors who were deaf or were hearing , yet signed, proved that keeping the integrity of the deaf culture and ASL as part of the filming process was key. For me this kept the movie "real" and genuine.
I know that Universal Signs will now be added to my syllabus for ASL students to view. Thank you for making this splendid movie which made me laugh, weep , and proud to have followed this movie from casting to wide release in the theaters and on DVD.
UNIVERSAL SIGNS transcends the need for spoken language. And quite frankly, the facial expressions and body language of the actors almost makes it unnecessary, at times, for sign language. The casting of actors who were deaf or were hearing , yet signed, proved that keeping the integrity of the deaf culture and ASL as part of the filming process was key. For me this kept the movie "real" and genuine.
I know that Universal Signs will now be added to my syllabus for ASL students to view. Thank you for making this splendid movie which made me laugh, weep , and proud to have followed this movie from casting to wide release in the theaters and on DVD.
Another barrier broken
kmorri119 April 2008
I enjoyed this movie because it was unique.
It makes you wonder how it would be to not be a part of a majority group. I think one of the biggest causes for misunderstanding in the world is the inability to communicate with each other. If we cannot communicate well with people who speak the same language as us, how are we supposed to communicate with someone of a different language? This movie brings light to this all. It really made me ponder the following. How awesome would it be if every individual could be open to the differences of others? What if we didn't just walk by someone because we felt uncomfortable talking to them? What if we took the time to understand different cultures? What if we were accepting that not everyone takes the time to understand our culture, so we should be thankful that they are trying to understand?
I think if anything, this movie is a wonderful start to opening people's eyes to wanting to learn about and spend time with another culture and not letting language be a barrier.
It makes you wonder how it would be to not be a part of a majority group. I think one of the biggest causes for misunderstanding in the world is the inability to communicate with each other. If we cannot communicate well with people who speak the same language as us, how are we supposed to communicate with someone of a different language? This movie brings light to this all. It really made me ponder the following. How awesome would it be if every individual could be open to the differences of others? What if we didn't just walk by someone because we felt uncomfortable talking to them? What if we took the time to understand different cultures? What if we were accepting that not everyone takes the time to understand our culture, so we should be thankful that they are trying to understand?
I think if anything, this movie is a wonderful start to opening people's eyes to wanting to learn about and spend time with another culture and not letting language be a barrier.
You will be touched, moved and inspired.....don't miss it !
sdyatsky25 April 2008
This is a wonderful movie. It is unique and fresh in so many ways....the depth of the story is mesmerizing. The viewer is subtly drawn into the story without Hollywood stunts or even verbal dialog. It's simple, yet elegant. It is masterful in the way in which the viewer participates in the story. It is impossible to remain passive in the viewing in that the viewer must 'read' and 'look' and 'listen to the music' and infer what is 'between the lines'. As such, the viewer is 'drawn in'. The interesting effect of this, is that the viewing experience is somehow richer and effect deeper than in a 'standard' movie format. The movie draws the viewer into the inner world of the deaf, as well as into the viewer's own inner world. This film never treats the deaf as 'other' or as a stereotype....the characters are real people with strengths and weaknesses. This is a heartfelt movie which stirs the heart and even the very soul of the viewer.
Good Look At The World Of The Deaf Marred By A Bad Melodramatic Plot-Point
Michael-706 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I knew little about this film when I saw it at the Philadelphia Film Festival this afternoon.
For the most part, Universal Signs works when it sticks to the world of the deaf characters and how they deal with the world including such mundane tasks as being awoken by an alarm clock (the alarm is silent, but a light flashes) to how they deal with panhandlers who pretend to be deaf, something any major city dweller has come across more than once.
Where this film fails is when it abandons those bits and attempts to force a melodramatic plot point onto the story in some misguided hope that an audience's familiarity with the cliché will translate into a better understanding of the soundless world of the deaf. This is naïve on writer/director Ann Calamia's part and nearly ruins her wonderful film.
I am not deaf or hearing impaired, nor is anyone in my family, so for me, watching our handsome leading man negotiate his normal workaday was the fascinating part. How does a deaf person handle it when a hearing person continues talking to him without realizing they are speaking to a deaf person; when do you spring that information on the person?
How does a deaf person deal with other people thinking they are rude because they don't answer when spoken to or ever acknowledge a door knocking or the phone ringing?
What do deaf people sign about when us hearing people aren't looking? This is the interesting stuff and early on, Universal Signs delves into that world with a bravery and gusto that could have made this film a break through, like an Annie Hall for the deaf.
Consider the plus's, we have a charming leading lady in Mary, played by Sabrina Lloyd, who while not exactly copying Diane Keaton, has the kind of loopy intelligence and humor that shines right through her shy, awkward smile.
The hero, Andrew is played by a very charismatic actor named Anthony Natale who reminds me of a pre-Sundance Kid Robert Redford, right down to the blond hair and broad shoulders. This guy is good and can express more intelligent thought with his eyes than most actors can with a two-page soliloquy.
In fact, the naturalness of the leading actors coupled with acutely observed scenes of them dating that are held in long takes where we see both actors completely and all their conversations from the romantic to the dull are presented in sign language with subtitles. While this may limit the films appeal to a general audience, as a veteran of countless foreign language films, I had no trouble following the story or the events.
It was very brave of director Calamia to eschew most all of the extraneous sound (except in flashbacks) and to totally wrap us in the deaf persons world. I learned a lot about deaf people that I never would be able to experience any other way, short of losing my hearing, but hey, that can happen from injury or infection; no guarantees in this world.
But when the writer (I blame Calamia's script more than her direction) decides to force a secret guilt onto our hero; she makes him be the person responsible for the death of his fiancées daughter, which terminated their engagement.
It's a dumb plot point that is originally only alluded to in colorful flashbacks where we even get to hear Andrew speak in that way deaf people sometimes speak where their words are over-enunciated in a slightly indistinct monotone that is very endearing, (no letters please, I mean this in a lovely way).
But apparently, writer Calamia feels it's not enough to just allude to this past episode. Director Calamia hits us over the head with it and it is so shamefully cliché, even Louis B. Mayer would have been too embarrassed to think an audience would swallow it. Likewise the dumb tacked on ending showing Andrew and Mary with a three-year-old kid of their own, presumably after they get married is not needed.
Still, the good far outweighs the bad in this film. There is a wonderfully dysfunctional Easter Dinner with Mary's family where individual tempers flare but it's all done with sign language. Margot Kidder steals this section of the film in a much too short cameo role as Mary's mother who is a sassy, signing, drunkard who cops a feel of Andrew's butt after admiring his muscles that just brought the house down.
If this film is not yet locked, lose the fake happy ending and stick with everyone making friends at the bar as the final shot and please, please, please trim the excessive bits of the fiancée's daughter drowning as a way to give Andrew a guilt complex.
Really, Andrew has enough sorrowful motivation on his plate already because of his disengagement with his own mother shortly before her death from cancer, his own dissolved engagement as well as his giving up his art school dreams for work in the computer field. That's enough; you didn't have to kill the kid as well.
For the most part, Universal Signs works when it sticks to the world of the deaf characters and how they deal with the world including such mundane tasks as being awoken by an alarm clock (the alarm is silent, but a light flashes) to how they deal with panhandlers who pretend to be deaf, something any major city dweller has come across more than once.
Where this film fails is when it abandons those bits and attempts to force a melodramatic plot point onto the story in some misguided hope that an audience's familiarity with the cliché will translate into a better understanding of the soundless world of the deaf. This is naïve on writer/director Ann Calamia's part and nearly ruins her wonderful film.
I am not deaf or hearing impaired, nor is anyone in my family, so for me, watching our handsome leading man negotiate his normal workaday was the fascinating part. How does a deaf person handle it when a hearing person continues talking to him without realizing they are speaking to a deaf person; when do you spring that information on the person?
How does a deaf person deal with other people thinking they are rude because they don't answer when spoken to or ever acknowledge a door knocking or the phone ringing?
What do deaf people sign about when us hearing people aren't looking? This is the interesting stuff and early on, Universal Signs delves into that world with a bravery and gusto that could have made this film a break through, like an Annie Hall for the deaf.
Consider the plus's, we have a charming leading lady in Mary, played by Sabrina Lloyd, who while not exactly copying Diane Keaton, has the kind of loopy intelligence and humor that shines right through her shy, awkward smile.
The hero, Andrew is played by a very charismatic actor named Anthony Natale who reminds me of a pre-Sundance Kid Robert Redford, right down to the blond hair and broad shoulders. This guy is good and can express more intelligent thought with his eyes than most actors can with a two-page soliloquy.
In fact, the naturalness of the leading actors coupled with acutely observed scenes of them dating that are held in long takes where we see both actors completely and all their conversations from the romantic to the dull are presented in sign language with subtitles. While this may limit the films appeal to a general audience, as a veteran of countless foreign language films, I had no trouble following the story or the events.
It was very brave of director Calamia to eschew most all of the extraneous sound (except in flashbacks) and to totally wrap us in the deaf persons world. I learned a lot about deaf people that I never would be able to experience any other way, short of losing my hearing, but hey, that can happen from injury or infection; no guarantees in this world.
But when the writer (I blame Calamia's script more than her direction) decides to force a secret guilt onto our hero; she makes him be the person responsible for the death of his fiancées daughter, which terminated their engagement.
It's a dumb plot point that is originally only alluded to in colorful flashbacks where we even get to hear Andrew speak in that way deaf people sometimes speak where their words are over-enunciated in a slightly indistinct monotone that is very endearing, (no letters please, I mean this in a lovely way).
But apparently, writer Calamia feels it's not enough to just allude to this past episode. Director Calamia hits us over the head with it and it is so shamefully cliché, even Louis B. Mayer would have been too embarrassed to think an audience would swallow it. Likewise the dumb tacked on ending showing Andrew and Mary with a three-year-old kid of their own, presumably after they get married is not needed.
Still, the good far outweighs the bad in this film. There is a wonderfully dysfunctional Easter Dinner with Mary's family where individual tempers flare but it's all done with sign language. Margot Kidder steals this section of the film in a much too short cameo role as Mary's mother who is a sassy, signing, drunkard who cops a feel of Andrew's butt after admiring his muscles that just brought the house down.
If this film is not yet locked, lose the fake happy ending and stick with everyone making friends at the bar as the final shot and please, please, please trim the excessive bits of the fiancée's daughter drowning as a way to give Andrew a guilt complex.
Really, Andrew has enough sorrowful motivation on his plate already because of his disengagement with his own mother shortly before her death from cancer, his own dissolved engagement as well as his giving up his art school dreams for work in the computer field. That's enough; you didn't have to kill the kid as well.
Unlike any film I have ever seen...
reed626 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Unlike any film I have ever seen
(may contain spoilers) I was among the lucky ones to get a ticket to view Universal Signs at one of its sell-out "sneak peak" screenings at the Philadelphia Film Festival this spring. My hope is that this embracing film makes it into theaters everywhere as the world deserves to see this beautiful story which was so embraced by audiences in Philadelphia that it took away the honor as Audience Choice for Best Feature Film. Hearing, deaf and hard of hearing audience members alike were spell bound by its endearing characters, classic story, beautiful cinematography, mesmerizing score, and right on target directing of filmmaker, Ann Calamia in this, her debut film. I agree with those who say this is a classic story beautifully told with layer after layer of symbolism that leaves one wanting to see it again and again - as you just can't take it in all at once. I fell in love with each of the film's characters that were perfectly cast in their roles (wait until you see Margot Kidder, whose scene stealing cameo appearance brings down the house). And I agree with other viewers who shared that at times one could almost hear the actors speaking, although Universal Signs is told from the perspective of its deaf main character played by Anthony Natalie in his native language, ASL. As a helping professional I believe that our most authentic communication often comes not from the words we speak, but through our nonverbal communication skills or lack thereof. Therefore, I was captivated by Ms. Calamia's ability to capture and communicate human emotions, especially those spoken through the eyes. It was my privilege as a hearing person to view Universal Signs with my deaf and hard of hearing companions and to travel on a common journey; the path that leads to love, forgiveness and eventual healing. This film is one in a million. If you get the opportunity to see it, DON'T MISS IT. Universal Signs touches your very soul and you come away with the feeling that we are indeed one community, speaking one universal language.
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