Land of Silence and Darkness

Play trailer

Land of Silence and Darkness

1971

1h 21m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Werner Herzog examines the world of Fini Straubinger, a woman who uses her own conditions of blindness and deafness to call attention to others who are similarly afflicted.

Watch on Prime Video

Stream Now

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Speaks volumes about the intrinsic human desire for empathetic communion.

Rated: A

Feb 12, 2006

Full Review

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.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 3, 2005

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

A remarkable, unaccountable film, both cold and moving.

Aug 3, 2005

Full Review

Wael Khairy

The Cinephile Fix

This study of what it means to be human is one of the most empathetic documentaries out there.

Dec 30, 2022

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

The subject is, by any standard, worth suffering the sometimes dodgy filmmaking.

Rated: 8/10

Feb 10, 2008

Full Review

Bill Gibron

DVDTalk.com

Land of Silence and Darkness is a tremendous testament to the strength of the human spirit...Werner Herzog is a filmmaker of substantive skill and talent.

Rated: 5/5

Jul 28, 2005

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

One of Herzog's first documentaries and naturally an unorthodox one. We befriend Fini Straubinger - a deaf and blind old lady that knows a whole lot about how to communicate and teach people who share her disability. Herzog is not as present here as he often is in his later docus, but it's not needed. The people on screen does the magic by themselves. It's very fascinating and often poetic as people on screen give away some words and some lines are written on screen "If there's a new World War, I would not even know" is omne that sticks with me. This is a sad film in many ways as people here lives almost totally isolated from the world as we know it. On another note it's very heartwarming to see all the people tutoring and helping out to make they're lives a whole lot better. No one could make a film like this other than Herzog, and his eye for making docus about unique, fraguile or weird things has always been present. 7.5 out of 10 cactuses.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Unimaginably complex and significant film. What binds the senses to ideas of self, of thought and ideas? All this is present in one of Herzog's greatest, and arguably most underrated films of the 1970's.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Although the documentary looks dated given this was the early 1970's, the subject matter is still very relevant and it's very revealing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

http://filmreviewsnsuch.blogspot.com/2016/05/land-of-silence-and-darkness.html

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Phenomenal film making as this truly shines a bright light on the garbage now referred to as "Documentary".

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Some amazing people in this film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Werner Herzog

Director

Werner Herzog

Screenwriter

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Into the Inferno

92%

73%

Into the Inferno

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Into the Inferno

Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds

98%

63%

Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds

Watchlist

My Best Fiend

78%

92%

My Best Fiend

Watchlist

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

96%

73%

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Watchlist

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World

92%

68%

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Werner Herzog examines the world of Fini Straubinger, a woman who uses her own conditions of blindness and deafness to call attention to others who are similarly afflicted.

Director: Werner Herzog
Screenwriter: Werner Herzog
Production Co: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: German
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 15, 2016
Runtime: 1h 21m

Most Popular at Home Now