SPOILER possibly
What was the point of having one of the people that gave the girl the bomb be deaf? Why would they include that?
And why was his signing incorrect? Or the translation at least.
Seems weird. Or maybe it was a dialect/not ASL.
deaf actors need work jst as hearing actors do that mite b the most sinificant thing aboot the dude, or possibly to show the effects of ones poor bomb-making skills @ a younger age, e.g. lose hearing become better @ making bombs= not dying...yay! but It really hasnt a major thing to do w/ the story so I'd(& will) suggest, don't sweat it.
shareThat's like asking "Why did this guy have a scar?!" Does it need to be a plot point? Can't it just be an interesting characteristic?
shareThe guy wasn't necessarily deaf,he may have learned signing to remain anonymous.
"God put you here to test my faith,dude"-BILL HICKS
Julia Loktev notes in the DVD commentary that the deaf man is using British Sign Language rather than American Sign Language. Loktev says that she used this to further seperate the girl from her initial handlers (like mother and bride) and usher in the second part of the film (or something to that effect).
As a viewer I found the switch to sign language disorienting, elevating my involvement in the film. My first thought was that the deaf man had been injured making one of his bombs or that he had turned to making bombs because of his deafness.
Well I for one wondered, too. I thought that maybe he was the "top dog" and for one reason or another, would only "speak through signing. Like he always took every precaution not to have his voice taped or even heard aloud. Just a thought. Also,at the end when the girl is sitting there on the sidewalk come nightfall, she asks for a sign. The only sign that really stood out,to me, was the"one way"sign. But which way? Taking her life, going back home.. For some reason I felt that, the eating of the bread(2 pretzels), was almost biblical and the apple was like when Eve took the first bite(a sin). Showed a kind of inner turmoil between good and evil. She even whispered something like that towards the beginning of the film. I admit that there were times... during the bathing and the brushing of her teeth,that I had to hit the fast forward button. :)
share[deleted]
what do U no of the deaf community in rochester?
sharegeeze..you know the poster probably just meant "is there any significance with the guy being deaf?" and isn't that possible? it was just a question....I know a lot of time people look for meaning where there isn't any but it's not this went on and on with bogus meaning, just asked "why?"....
#51"That's right, one can make all kinds of explosives using simple household items"
Yeah,I found that a bit disorienting, too.
But now I see the connection: deaf actors --> deafactors --> defectors... Hence the filmmakers are warning us that there's a whole Fifth Column of deaf people in our midst!
It's not too late, folks! In the name of God, Motherhood, apple pie, and all that we hold dear, let's round 'em all up and give them all cochlear implants!
The sign language alienated the other terrorists from the couple using it and shook up the power dynamics and level of trust in the group for a couple of minutes.
The couple were not American and there are many forms of sign language in the world. Being involved in illegal work, they may have even come up with their own modified version of one of the existing languages so they could communicate without being understood, even by people who know sign language.