Marie's Story

Name: Marie's Story
Item: Marie's Story
Rating: 4
Author: Brian Costello

Movie review by

Brian Costello, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 12+

(i)

Inspirational subtitled film is emotionally intense.

NR
2014
94 minutes

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Marie's Story

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We think this movie stands out for:

Character Strengths

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The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

Positive Messages

Diligence and perseverance in the face of tremendous challenges will eventually lead to progress, breakthroughs, and success. Additional themes include compassion, courage, empathy, gratitude, and humility.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Sister Marguerite, while in the midst of her own life-threatening illness, undertakes an incredibly difficult challenge by trying to teach Marie, a blind and deaf teenager, how to communicate and interact with the outside world; this challenge is compounded by the skepticism expressed by the other nuns. Marie displays an insatiable curiosity about the outside world once she is taught how to communicate. She eventually devotes her life to instructing other students at the school for the deaf where she spends the rest of her life.

Violence

Some peril. Marie, a blind and deaf teenager incapable of communicating her thoughts and feelings, initially resorts to feral screams and punching fits. A main character dies.

Sex

Language

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Marie's Story is a 2014 French film based on the true story of a blind and deaf girl who learns to communicate with the outside world with the help of a determined nun with struggles of her own. Some of the scenes are too intense for younger viewers, especially scenes in which Marie, unable to communicate and confused by her recent separation from her parents to a deaf school, helplessly screams and punches anything or anyone around her. This movie also deals frankly with the death of one of the lead characters. As this is a French movie with English subtitles, it could be challenging for kids learning to read to follow along. Overall, this movie is a beautiful exploration of a young nun's willingness to take on a difficult challenge, to persevere, and to reveal the possibilities of life to someone who was never given the chance.

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What's the story?

In the countryside of France during the late 19th century, MARIE'S STORY begins. Marie (Ariana Rivoire) is a 14-year-old deaf and blind girl whose aging parents take her to a school for the deaf run by nuns in the hopes that the nuns will take her in so Marie doesn't have to go to an asylum. While the nuns are hesitant -- Marie, unable to communicate, shrieks like a feral animal and is apt to punching anyone who gets in her way -- a young nun named Marguerite (Isabelle Carre) decides to step up to the challenge and offers to take care of Marie. For months, the task is incredibly difficult -- Marie is resistant at every turn -- but after building trust, Marie finally understands when Marguerite teaches her the sign for "knife," and from there, Marie shows an insatiable curiosity to learn the names for everything around her and to communicate through sign language in complete sentences. But her breakthroughs hit a snag when she learns that Marguerite is dying of tuberculosis. Marie must learn to accept death and to go on and find ways to help other girls with similar disabilities.

Is it any good?

This film is both a tearjerker and an inspirational movie based on the true story of a deaf and blind 14-year-old girl in France who is taught to communicate by a patient young nun. The acting is impressive, and the story never loses sight of this special relationship between Marie and Sister Marguerite. While it's easy enough to anticipate where the story goes, it's the journey itself that makes this worthwhile, and by being liberated to express herself to those around her, Marie is given a chance for life and dignity at a time when people with her disability would be just as likely to be left in the darkness of an asylum.

And that's what makes Marie's Story so special. At a time when the only real options for Marie's parents were to take her to an asylum or to a deaf school run by nuns, it's a testament to the resiliency, patience, and perseverance of Sister Marguerite that she would take on the challenge of teaching Marie how to communicate, when society and even the other nuns around her told her Marie was unteachable. In a time when so many movies show one-dimensional conceptions of bravery and integrity, Marie's Story shows that there are greater depths to these values and that they can be translated into film.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about movies like Marie's Story based on true stories. What would be the challenges in turning a real-life event or experience into a movie?
How did the movie show the difficulties and triumphs of Marie being taught how to communicate with those around her? What does the movie teach us about perseverance and communication?
How do the characters in Marie's Story demonstrate courage, curiosity, and humility? What about compassion, empathy, and gratitude? Why are these important character strengths?