Original subtitles

(DOOR OPENING)

Morning, kiddos.

Ralph, wake up.

Hi, Timmy. Rise and shine.

It's breakfast time.

Come on, boy. Thatta boy.

Got to get you up. It's breakfast time.

How you doing today?

Here you are. Fine.

How's that? Good.

There you are.

How's that? Good.

Jonah. Get up, Jonah.

Gonna sleep all day?

Got to get you fed and ready.

You got a big day, today, you know.

Here's your breakfast.

Come on, Danny. You have to walk so slow?

Hey, where's the fire here?

He said 8.00. Well, it's 8.00.

We're not there yet.

We're here. This is it. This is the hospital.

Come on. If you promise not to run,

I'll hold your hand.

Oh, Danny, come on.

(BLABBERS)

Jonah. Come back here.

Jonah.

Jonah.

(INDISTINCT LAUGHING)

Jonah.

I'm going to get you. Jonah, come back here, I said.

Jonah!

He's been here what, two years?

JENNY: Three.

Three years and four months.

Hmm.

Well, are there anymore questions I can answer?

No.

Mrs. Corelli?

I just find it hard to understand, that's all.

How does it happen that a little boy gets sent here

and nobody knows what's wrong with him?

I thought we went over this on the phone, Mrs. Corelli.

You went over it,

and I just listened, and I still don't understand.

Jenny, come on, will you, please?

Come on, Danny. He's supposed to be a doctor.

Doctors make mistakes, Mrs. Corelli.

It was your own family doctor

who diagnosed him as retarded.

Well, it's some mistake! That's all I can say.

Three years is a pretty big mistake!

(DANNY LAUGHING)

(EXCLAIMS)

Oh, no! Oh, oh.

Aw, come on, Jenny.

Don't get all mushy here, will you?

I can't help it.

DANNY: Hey, you were really hitting on him.

JENNY: Who?

That, uh, doctor, whatever his name was.

You really had him by the pant cuffs.

I thought you were going to chew his leg off.

Come on, Danny. I was not.

You were too. I'm telling you, you were making me nervous.

Well, he's a doctor. He's supposed to know what he's doing.

Right, Jonah?

(LAUGHS)

You think he'll ever forgive us?

Oh, who, that guy?

No, not Dr. Tibbs. Jonah.

Jenny, what are you doing?

It's not your fault. I told you that a hundred times.

Well, it sure feels like it.

Come on. Quit acting goofy.

Are you glad?

Yeah. Are you? Really?

Yeah, what do you think?

I don't know. What do you think?

Huh, Jonah? What do you think?

(HORN HONKS)

Hey, watch this car, huh?

You remember this house? It's been a long time.

Come on, Danny.

This is your house, Jonah. Look.

How you doing?

I don't think he remembers, Danny.

ALL: Surprise!

Hello, Jonah.

Jonah, come here. Let me look at you.

You remember your grandma? Mmm, you remember me?

Ah, Ma. (SPEAKING ITALIAN)

He's a big boy!

Oh, come here. Come and say hi to your brother Anthony.

Can you say hi to your brother?

Can you say hi to your brother Jonah?

Hi.

Oh, come on, Jonah. Come on, Mom.

Let me introduce Jonah to the kids.

Ah, now, do you remember your Uncle Larry?

Yes. And this is cousin Richard and Robbie.

Hi.

And this is Lisa, whom you haven't met yet.

Now, your cousin Richard, you know,

just got on the football team.

I don't know if your mother...

(DISTORTED)

...bicycle, Jonah.

And I know that he would love to take you out.

(DISTORTED)

ANN: Jonah. Well, he looks like me.

(DISTORTED)

Danny.

And I don't know if you remember, but your cousin

Richard and Robbie... Ann. Ann, Ann...

...visited you in the hospital.

What are you doing? The kid's deaf. He doesn't understand

a word you're saying, you know?

Huh?

I bet he does, too.

Watch. Hey!

Would you like a cookie?

Well?

Ann, he read your lips.

How can he read lips? He doesn't even know any words, Larry.

He doesn't know any words?

No.

Then how does he think?

I don't, I don't know how he thinks.

Well, didn't they teach him anything at that place?

Yeah, they taught him how to tie his shoes

and how to feed himself with a spoon.

Come on, Ann, those kids were retarded.

He doesn't know any words?

(MUSIC PLAYING)

Bravo!

(ALL CHEERING)

Grandma, come on. Come on.

Come on.

Bravo!

(INDISTINCT TALKING)

(ALL CHEERING) Bravo!

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

Beautiful.

Grandma, that was great.

(EXCLAIMS)

When you hear the sound,

pick up a ring

and put it on the peg.

Wait until you hear a sound.

(HUMMING)

And put the ring on the peg.

Good.

No, no. Wait.

Wait until you hear the sound.

No. No candy.

Not until you hear the sound.

(HUMMING)

I don't think I understand.

Is he deaf, or are you saying that he's not deaf?

AUDIOLOGIST: Well, we don't like that word and, uh...

We can't be certain just what his hearing loss is.

We would like to have him fitted for a hearing aid.

Hearing aid?

Yes, that's right.

Will he be able to hear with it on?

Well, it's not quite so simple.

It won't help him to hear sounds

that he can't hear already.

It won't make things clearer.

But it will amplify sounds he can just barely hear now.

It will raise the level of sound in general.

And I think, uh, speech therapy would be a good idea, too.

Questions?

JENNY: Anthony, you want some bread?

ANTHONY: Yeah.

DANNY: Jen.

Is that enough butter? Uh-huh.

Yeah? DANNY: Jenny, get me Jonah's glass.

How do you know he wants any milk?

'Cause everybody wants milk.

Sometimes I don't.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah, I like soda sometimes.

You like soda? Yeah.

You name me one famous baseball player

who ever drank soda as a kid.

I don't care!

I don't believe it. Soda.

Hey, what are you doing?

Hey, look, he's dropping his stuff on the floor here.

Hey, what is this?

Jonah, no. Don't throw your food.

Keep your food on your plate.

Don't throw your food.

Soda. (SCOFFS)

What are you doing?

Now, would you cut it out? Don't do that!

Danny, give me his plate. I'll put his peas in the pan.

(SCREAMING)

Stop it. She's going to be back in a minute.

Now, just cool out. Jonah, will you stop it.

Jenny. Cool out.

Put it there.

Stop it.

(EXHALES)

I don't want my peas, either.

DANNY: Anthony.

Don't be a wise guy. Just eat your peas.

Jonah doesn't have to eat his peas.

So you're not Jonah. So you eat yours.

Why?

Because I said so, that's why.

Now, you see? Huh?

Come on, Danny. You can see Jonah doesn't like his peas.

Well, Anthony doesn't like his peas, either.

Anthony, eat your peas.

Hey, Danny. You playing tonight?

Nah. Count me out.

Why not? What are you doing? Nothing.

The kid's just home from the hospital. I better pass.

What, the retarded kid? He's not retarded, man. He's deaf.

He's deaf? Is that right?

Yeah.

How long is gonna be home for?

Forever.

Forever? And he's deaf?

Yeah, man, he's deaf!

Can he read lips and all that kind of stuff?

No, he can't read lips. He doesn't even know what words are.

Well, then, how do you talk to him?

Hey, Dickie, I don't know how you talk to him!

Hey. (GIGGLING)

Ah, come on, Danny. Don't be fresh. This is hot. (LAUGHS)

What's with you anyway?

Manicotti really turns you on, huh?

Jenny, I felt manicotti before,

I never felt manicotti like this.

Just let me drain this before it gets soggy.

Hey, should I turn this off?

Yeah. Yeah.

Hey, Jonah, it's only 15 minutes till dinner.

You want to eat crackers?

You sit over here and eat them so you don't

track them through the house, okay?

What in the hell is this?

That's his hearing aid.

His hearing aid? Jenny, I've seen hearing aids before.

I never saw one that looks like that.

Well, that's the kind they gave him.

Who gave him?

The hearing aid place.

You're not gonna let him wear

this out in the street, are you?

Why not?

Because people are gonna make fun of him. That's why not.

I mean, kids are gonna make fun of him.

Ah, come on, Danny. What do you want me to do?

I didn't make the hearing aid.

Well, honey, couldn't you ask

for the regular kind or something?

That is the regular kind.

How about those little ones that just kind of go in,

like, you know, behind the ear, like...

Danny, the man said that this is the best kind for kids.

They don't break them as easily and, uh...

Well, they're harder to lose.

Jenny. Would you look at this thing?

Aw, Danny...

Come on, I mean it. I mean, look,

even he doesn't want to wear it.

He's got it off already. Come on.

Come on, Jonah. You've got to keep it in.

I can't believe that you couldn't get

something better than this.

Danny, that's all they had! I don't think it's possible.

I'm sorry. Okay, that's enough...

(MUFFLED SPEECH)

...think it's possible. Danny, I don't believe you.

Why?

I take a...

I have to let... Well, what do I do all day?

I go bowling all day? I work all day. What do you want from me?

Oh, come on. You want to fix dinner?

I'll take him out, we'll get a new hearing aid.

Come on, you guys, it's bedtime.

Jonah's reading Spider-Man.

Good. But it's still bedtime.

That's Spider-Man. He's my favorite.

He's after the crooks!

Want to see my Spider-Man doll?

See?

You can play with it.

Hey!

He's mine!

Hey. Come on, guys. It's late. What's going on?

Jonah won't let me have my Spider-Man!

Come on, Jonah.

Here, Anthony.

Good night, Jonah. (KISSING)

Good night, Anthony. (KISSING)

How come Jonah doesn't like Spider-Man?

I don't know. Maybe it scares him.

Why?

I don't know, Anthony.

But Spider-Man's a good guy.

But Jonah doesn't know that.

But can't we tell him?

I don't know how.

Come on, it's lights-out time.

Good night.

JENNY: Good night.

(TYPEWRITER CLACKING)

Oh, yes?

Oh, we're here to see Mrs. Marquardt.

I'm Jenny Corelli and this is Jonah.

Oh, yes, I'm Mrs. Marquardt.

Forgive me. Uh, come into my office, please.

I find I'm a better typist than my secretary,

so I wait until her day off and then I do my typing.

Right in here, please.

Won't you sit down?

Does he wear his hearing aid all day?

Well, he doesn't seem to like it very much.

Oh, he must learn. Very important.

He must learn to like it.

It's his best friend.

We're trying. Good.

Well, as I told you on the phone,

most of our children here are younger than Jonah.

We like to start them around two or three,

but I think he can benefit from our training.

I hope so.

Uh, may I give you my little speech, Mrs. Corelli?

It's something I like to do

with our prospective parents and students.

I think it helps to

make ourselves very clear from the beginning.

Yes. I think I need someone to be clear with me.

Good. You keep that attitude and you'll do fine.

We don't permit the use of sign language

or gestures in our sessions.

We believe that once a child begins to use signs

he becomes lazy in learning how to use his voice

and read lips.

He follows the course of least resistance.

Do you understand me?

I think so. Good.

You tell me when you don't understand something and you'll do fine.

Now, if he uses signs and does not learn

how to speak and to read lips,

then when he grows older he cannot speak to any, but the deaf.

Do you understand? Yes.

Unfortunately, it's a hearing world.

Unfortunately for the deaf, that is.

So we don't permit signs

and we advise our parents not to permit signing at home.

Never.

Never, never.

Now, what do we believe in?

I don't know.

We believe in practice, Mrs. Corelli.

Nothing very glamorous, I'm afraid,

just practice.

Repetition. Many of our children are quite successful here.

We have our failures, too,

but I think it's better to stress the positive side,

don't you?

Jenny, do you want more paper?

Okay, I... I...

...want... ...want...

...more... ...more...

...paper. ...paper.

Good language! Here you go.

Okay, are you finished?

There's Jonah.

That's red. What's that?

Hi, Jonah.

Hi, Jonah. Welcome to our class.

You stay. You stay.

Come into the class. Come on.

Look what I have for you.

I have your name.

See?

That's your name. Jonah.

Jonah. Come, let's meet the other children.

Come on. Come on.

Jonah, sit down.

Jonah, this is Kurt.

Kurt. Good, Kurt.

This is Candy. Say Candy. Candy.

Good, Candy.

Susan. Good, Susan.

Jennifer.

Jonah, this is Jennifer. Can you say Jennifer?

Jennifer.

Okay, good. Jennifer.

This is Flavia. Flavia.

Good. Flavia.

This is Daniel.

Daniel. Daniel.

Good, Daniel.

You're doing good.

That's good. Mom, I'm through!

Want to put it up? Yeah.

Okay. Here's some tape.

I'm through with Jonah's, too.

Come on. We'll go over to your bed.

Isn't this nice?

See, you're Jonah.

I'm Mommy.

That's Anthony.

That's Anthony's bed.

This is Jonah's bed.

You're Jonah.

I'm Mommy.

(INDISTINCT)

Hey, it's Jonah!

Come here!

JENNY: Hi, Grandpa.

(EXCLAIMING) Oh!

(SCATTING)

Hey. Hey, Max! Max!

Show Jonah a trick.

MAX: Where's my orange?

Where's my orange?

Hey, watch this.

(EXCLAIMS) (JONAH LAUGHING)

(LAUGHING)

Okay, baby, come on, now. Come on, slugger. Here you go.

Strike three! Next!

Come on, baby.

Throw that ball.

Hey, Danny, what's this?

Now...

What do mean, what's this? Just throw the ball.

Hey, come on, Danny, put Andy in there.

He's next. Now, come on, you gonna talk all day,

or you just gonna throw the ball? Come on.

Oh, come on.

Wait. You got to swing at the ball, Jonah, okay?

You got to swing at the ball when he throws it.

All right? Hey, how about it, Danny?

It's gettin' late. We want to play.

Would you just throw the ball, all right?

Okay, Danny? That's good.

Get him out of there? Come on, he's got two more strikes, Gooch.

Now, throw the ball to him.

I ain't gonna throw the ball!

What? Why not?

Because, first of all, the kid don't know a baseball from an apricot.

And second of all, he's going to hurt himself.

Come on. Get him out of there.

Give me the ball. I ain't giving you the ball.

Come on, Gooch, give me the ball.

Danny! Danny! Come on, man, calm down.

Listen, why don't you take the kid home and come back here?

Hey, Rico, do me a favor, huh? You take your kid home.

Don't tell me what to do with my kid, all right?

Hey, look, take it easy. Settle down.

No, don't tell me to settle down.

What are you talking about?

I'm talking about the people not getting too excited

about you having a kid around here.

That's what I'm talking about, Danny.

What people?

What people don't want my kid around here?

They... Now, you show me, what people?

Don't be such a jerk, okay?

Who's a jerk, Rico? Don't you go calling me a jerk.

All right? 'Cause you're a jerk!

Rico, forget about it, man.

Hey. Jerry, you don't want my kid around here?

Sal? You don't want my kid coming around here or what?

Danny, we came to play. It's gettin' late, you know what I mean, Danny?

I want to know, huh?

Who is it who doesn't want my kid coming here?

MAN: Hey, come on, play ball, huh?

Anthony, come on!

(GIBBERS)

DANNY: Hey.

Hey, Jonah, I told you not to throw food.

If you throw food I'm going to take your plate away.

Okay, buddy, that's it.

(SCREAMING)

Where are you going with his plate?

I'm going to take the carrots off.

Put the plate down.

Danny, what's the point? Put the plate down!

He doesn't understand what you're saying to him, Danny!

He'll understand that if he throws his food on the floor, he won't eat.

You can teach a dog that!

He's not a dog! Sure eats like one.

(SCREAMING)

Sit down!

Okay.

Let's go. That's it. Come on.

(DOOR OPENING)

(BANGING ON DOOR)

(JONAH SCREAMING)

What is it, Jonah? Hmm?

What's the matter?

Oh.

Do you want the airplane?

Okay.

Say, "I want the airplane."

Say, "I want the airplane."

No, Jonah. I want the airplane.

Do you want the ball?

I want the ball.

Jonah, do you want the ball?

Do you want the ball?

Do you want the airplane?

Do you want the airplane?

Do you want the ball?

I didn't think I was gonna make it.

What time do you have?

It's a quarter to twelve.

(GROANS) Nuts! I had plenty of time.

I was running down the street like an idiot.

You got a kid in there?

Yeah. Which one?

Jonah. We just started.

Oh. I heard about you. He was misdiagnosed.

Yeah.

Thank God you found out.

Yeah, I'm wondering if it's any better being deaf.

I know what you mean. I got a kid in there.

Tommy. Dark hair, small face,

and these big earphones. (LAUGHS)

So, how's he doing?

Okay, I guess.

How you doing?

It's not easy, is it, hmm?

Ah, people don't understand.

I'm Connie Mullaney.

Hi. I'm Jenny Corelli.

(INDISTINCT)

(BELL RINGS)

Throw the ball! Throw the ball!

Throw it.

(GIBBERING)

(GIBBERS) What's the matter, Jonah?

(GIBBERS)

What is it? What do you want?

I don't understand, Jonah.

You what?

What, Jonah? What?

What is it, Anthony? What does he want?

I don't know. Jonah!

Jonah! This is enough, Jonah.

Jonah! Stop pulling me.

I don't know what you want.

Jonah, what is it you want?

I don't know what that means.

Jonah.

Jonah, stop it!

Stop it, Jonah!

Jonah, don't!

(GASPS) Stop it!

Jonah, stop it! No, honey, no.

I don't know what you want. I just don't know!

Jonah, Jonah, Jonah, Jonah. I'm sorry. (CRYING)

I don't know.

Oh, baby...

There, you see? You see him carrying

those grapefruit all the way from the truck?

You see him?

I see him, Grandma.

He hires Max to watch the stand

so he can move the heavy boxes.

She's right, Grandpa. Right.

You should let Max move the boxes.

Hi, Jenny.

Hi, Grandpa.

Where's my favorite friend?

Hah! (EXCLAIMING) Ha!

(EXCLAIMS)

Look, look, you want to see

what a madman looks like? That's what he looks like.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

Okay, you want to be a madman? I don't care.

I don't care.

Hey, you want to go and have some coffee with me?

Sure.

Come on, let's go. Ah, forget it.

(SCATTING)

(LAUGHING)

Allora... How is it with Jonah?

Fine.

I look at your face if I want the truth.

Not fine.

Tell me, what is it?

Grandma, do you remember the time when I was a little girl

and you gave me that little glass ball

with the Empire State Building inside?

Yeah, and when you turned it upside down

it looked like it was snowing

on the Empire State Building. I remember.

Yeah, Grandma.

I never told you, but that glass ball scared me.

I used to think there were people living inside

and they were suffocating

because they couldn't get any air.

Last night, I dreamt that Jonah

was inside the glass ball.

And he was screaming at me

to get him out and I couldn't.

I couldn't break the glass. And he was screaming and screaming

and not even the sound of his screaming

made it out through the glass.

And I kept running around trying to find someone

to help me, and nobody could.

And Jonah was so angry with me.

I thought, he hates me.

Oh, no!

I don't know what to do, Grandma.

I didn't think it would be like this.

Like what, bambina?

I thought that it was just that he couldn't hear.

It's his birthday next week.

Hand me that wrench, will you?

Whose birthday? Jonah's.

No, honey, the wrench.

I was thinking of having a party.

What kind of party?

A birthday party.

For what?

For Jonah.

Who are you gonna invite?

I don't know. Maybe Ann and the kids.

Maybe some of the kids from the neighborhood.

What kids from the neighborhood?

He doesn't know any kids.

What are you going to do? Call up and invite

a bunch of kids to a freak show?

Freak show?

Honey, come on, Jenny...

Don't you ever say that to me!

Say what to you? Freak. He's not a freak!

I didn't say that he was a freak.

You said "freak show". What's that supposed to mean?

It doesn't mean anything. It's just like an expression.

I don't want to talk to you.

Oh, great! You don't want to talk to me.

Been yakking at me ever since he got back from the hospital.

Now, you don't want to talk to me. That's great.

I mean, what do you want from me?

You tell me, what do you want from me?

Where are you?

I want you to care about Jonah.

I care about Jonah!

Will you stop yelling at me? I'm not yelling at you.

What? You don't want anybody to hear?

They know. They know all about him.

They think he's nuts.

Stop it! You think they don't know?

What, do you think they're blind?

Stop it, Danny! What do you want?

What do you want? You were the one that was so excited

about him coming home from the hospital.

Well, weren't you?

Well, weren't you?

I don't know. Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn't!

At least there he wasn't paraded up and down the street

for everybody to point their fingers at.

What are you talking about?

What am I talking about?

Do you want to know what they think about him out there?

Stop it, Danny.

They think he's a freak.

(GASPS)

(EXHALES)

Oh, Jonah...

Okay? One, two, three!

ALL: ♪ Happy birthday to you... ♪

(MUFFLED SINGING)

(BLOWING)

(CHEERING)

Happy birthday, Jonah! Listen, you know what? I think he's scared.

(MUFFLED)

Okay, on three. ALL: One, two, three.

(MUFFLED SPEECH)

Yeah!

There you go. Now, that's not bad. There, there you go.

No, a little more straight. That's it. There you go. Hey!

He's doing okay, huh? Anthony, you're helpin' your brother here?

Here you go. Come on. Go ahead. Watch this. Watch this.

Go ahead. Go ahead. You can do it. Go ahead.

Oh, careful, Jonah. Huh? Look at this.

Be careful, Jonah. That's not good, that's great.

It is, huh? I don't believe it.

Not bad. Look at your brother.

Look at your brother.

Kid's doing okay, isn't he?

Yeah. Look at him. Jonah!

(HORN HONKING)

Oh, kid! Come on. Get out of the way!

(HONKING)

Jonah!

Jonah!

Look what happened. Look what happened.

Jonah! Are you all right?

You okay?

Can he get up? Wait a minute. Don't move him.

You okay? Hey!

You all right, Jonah?

Oh, there he is, huh? Come on. Get up. Get up.

I was only trying to get by.

He's right out in the middle of the street.

You. You, come here.

Get out of that car! I said... (ENGINE REVVING)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

Come back here!

It's not his fault! It's your fault!

You don't let some kid like this out in the street!

What are you talking about?

He doesn't belong on the street.

Why don't you take him away from here?

You shut up! Let me go. You all right?

Keep your nose out of somebody else's business!

I don't keep my nose out of nobody's business!

And you don't mind my nose!

Danny, he's all right!

He's okay, Danny. He's okay.

You all right? You all right?

What is the point of having a party, anyway?

Huh?

I told you it was stupid to have a party.

It wasn't your party. It was Jonah's party.

Well, Jonah doesn't know how to act at a party.

He can have a party if he wants to.

He doesn't want to.

He doesn't even know what a birthday is.

It's you who wanted a party.

You bought him the bike!

That's right. You're right!

I was stupid. I shouldn't have gotten him the bike,

'cause he doesn't know how to ride a bike.

He can too ride a bike!

Yeah. (SCOFFS) Yeah, inside.

Back and forth between the kitchen and the bathroom,

he can ride his little bike.

Stop being so stupid!

Eh, you know, you're the one that's being stupid.

'Cause you won't face it. He's not normal.

I don't want to hear you say that.

He's not normal!

Stop it, Danny! Stop it!

Don't you say that to me!

He's not normal! Face it!

He is normal!

He can't hear!

Yeah. He can't hear, he can't talk, he can't think,

he can't even live like a human being!

He belongs in that damn hospital!

I said it. Danny...

That's it, Jenny. I mean it. That's it.

Danny.

I saw Jonah in that hospital for three years.

Every time I went there, I felt numb.

I thought it was cold in there.

It wasn't, Danny. They showed me the thermometer on the wall.

I had to make myself go there, Danny!

I had to make myself go there!

What are you doing?

Leaving.

Don't come back, Danny.

You hear me?

Don't you ever come back!

Don't come back.

Danny, don't ever come back!

(TIRES SCREECHING)

Well, you'd make a nice fountain.

(LAUGHTER ON TV)

What're you doing?

I think it's getting thin in the back. Right here,

it's getting thin back here in the back.

Oh, for heaven's sake. Baldy.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Stop talking in Spanish.

I refuse, I won't do it.

I will not get bald!

Well, don't talk to me. Speak to your scalp.

(LAUGHTER)

Look, you're not losing your hair

and even if you were, there's nothing you can do about it.

Yeah, I guess you're right. Worry won't do it any good.

Certainly not. Yeah.

I wonder how I look...

Danny?

Danny, don't go.

(DOOR CLOSING)

Where's Daddy?

I don't know.

Is he coming back?

I don't know.

Is he mad at us?

Oh, I don't think so. Eat your macaroni, Anthony.

Is he mad at Jonah?

JENNY: No.

If I couldn't hear anything, would I get a bike, too?

Oh, Anthony.

You know, sometimes I wonder whether you want to

make me laugh or cry.

Laugh.

Finish your macaroni.

Ma, it's no big deal. I went down and filled out some forms, that's all.

I'm going to get welfare, what'd you think I was gonna do?

But welfare?

Come on, Ma.

Oh, Jenny, welfare. (SOBS)

Ma, for Pete's sake's! You didn't cry once, all this time, for Jonah.

Now I'm gonna get welfare, you're crying.

But no one in this family has ever been on welfare.

I know, Ma.

Oh, Jenny.

Jenny...

Yeah, Ma?

Jenny, don't you tell anyone!

I won't.

Jonah, look at you.

I could walk out of here right now and never see you again.

(SIGHS)

(CHUCKLES)

You are Jonah.

I am Mommy.

You are Jonah.

I am Mommy.

You are Jonah.

I am Mommy.

First, I'll let you look and listen.

And then, you'll just listen and you won't see.

Are you ready?

Bah, bah, bah.

Okay, Jonah, I'll say it again.

Bah, bah, bah.

One more time, Jonah.

Bah, bah, bah.

Ma. Good for you! Wonderful.

(MOUTHING)

Mom.

(DOOR OPENS)

That's enough for today. I'm afraid we've worn each other out.

Okay. Bye-bye, Jonah.

Come on, Richie. It's your turn.

I never thought I wanted to be like everybody else.

Now that's all I want.

Just to be like any mother

and Jonah be like any boy.

That's not asking too much, is it?

No.

Now all I need is someone to tell me how.

Ah, I used to go around asking people that question.

What a nuisance I was!

I would ask teachers, and doctors, and all the audiologists, everybody.

I think I even asked the mailman what he thought. (LAUGHS)

What did you find out?

Oh, nothing. Everybody has an answer

and nobody agrees with anyone else. Come on, I'll show you.

This one says you should never let your child use his hands

to express himself or he'll never learn to use his voice

or to read lips.

This one says exactly the opposite.

That you should use every means possible,

including sign language, to talk with your child.

Otherwise, he'll grow up without understanding anything.

(EXHALES)

Do you know what's great about this place?

It's quiet in here.

You can imagine what it's like being deaf

without having to stick your fingers in your ears.

(LAUGHING)

WOMAN: This is a rabbit.

You try.

Rabbit.

Rabbit.

You try.

Ra... Rabbit.

Ra... Rabbit.

Good try!

Rabbit.

Okay, Jonah.

One more.

Jonah.

Jonah.

Jonah.

Sit down.

No. Ow.

Jonah!

You come with me.

Come over here. No.

Over here. Come on.

This way.

You stay, you stay right here!

Car.

Look, Jonah. That's a car.

Aaah.

Car.

Aaah.

That's a truck. A truck. Watch me.

Truck. Aaah.

Truck. Aaah.

"Aaah"? It's not "Aaah".

Is that all you can say is "Aaah"?

It's a truck!

Aaah.

Jonah, damn it!

I can't stand it anymore.

It's not my fault!

It's not my fault!

Not my fault! Not my fault!

JENNY: Hey, Anthony, show your brother the fire hydrant.

Jonah, fire hydrant.

Fire hydrant.

That's good. That's good.

Jonah, look.

Fence.

Fence.

(JENNY SIGHS)

Hey, Anthony, show your brother the garbage can.

Jonah,

garbage can.

No, you got to say it facing him, Anthony.

Jonah,

garbage can.

Car!

Whoa.

(GRUNTS) Yeah.

Thank you.

ANTHONY: Who is it from?

Daddy.

What does it say?

He says he loves you.

Come on. Let's get the bike in the house.

Come on.

Jonah! Okay, finish now.

And when you finish, we're going to start dancing now again.

Don't tip the onions. Don't tip the onions. (EXCLAIMS)

(SIREN BLARES)

(INDISTINCT TALKING)

(CARMELLA SPEAKING ITALIAN)

(BOTH SPEAKING ITALIAN)

GRANDMOTHER: Francesco! Francesco!

What happened to Francesco?

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

Grandma! Oh, Grandma. Grandma.

Grandpa!

(SOBBING)

JENNY: Grandpa!

Let me in. Let me in.

JENNY: Grandpa.

Francesco! Francesco!

(SIREN BLARES)

Don't worry. Don't worry. Jonah.

He'll be all right. He'll be all right.

He'll be all right.

(CRYING)

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

Mamma. Mamma, get up. Mamma, come.

Goodbye. Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Say goodbye to Grandpa. Goodbye.

He's dead, Jonah.

Grandpa's dead.

(BELL TOLLING)

Jenny, I'm sorry.

He was Jonah's best friend.

And I don't think he even understands what's happened, Danny.

Yeah.

I wish he could tell me how he's feeling.

Yeah, I know.

He takes in so much with his eyes.

But none of it ever comes back out again.

Sometimes I'm afraid he'll get so full of things

he'll just burst.

Look...

I got be going, you know, I just...

Just kind of wanted to stop by, you know.

Jonah! Jonah!

(RINGS)

Yeah?

What?

No. No. He's...

Wait a minute.

Carmella? Si.

Where... Where was he?

I see him running by. I look for you but nobody with him!

Well, where did you see him?

Right there. But he's gone now!

Which way did he go?

I think he went that way. That way.

Oh, Grandma, we'll find him. Please! Please! You get him, find him!

You'll find him. Go. Go.

(TIRES SCREECH)

Hey, kid!

Hey, kid, you could have got yourself killed!

Hey, kid, wait a minute!

Hey, hey, take it easy. Take it easy.

Hey, kid. Hey, kid.

What are you doing wandering around the streets like that?

Hey, come on. Come on. You can't do that.

Hey, what's the matter with you, kid?

(SCREAMS)

Hey, what are you crazy or something?

Take it easy. Take it easy.

Hey, look, it's gonna be all right.

Take it easy, will you, kid?

Hey, this kid's crazy or something.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

What's the problem?

It's all right. Easy. Easy.

It's all right! It's all right!

(SCREAMING)

(SIREN BLARES)

It's the room at the end of the hall, around at the right.

Jonah!

Why is he tied up like that?

What are you doing to him?

We couldn't control him. He wouldn't listen to us.

But he's deaf! He's deaf! He's just deaf!

Untie him! MALE NURSE: We didn't know.

Calm down, lady. We didn't... Here, take it easy.

Please, untie him!

We couldn't control him!

Untie him! What are you doing to him?

We'll take care of him.

Everything will be all right.

He's just deaf! He's only deaf!

JENNY: It was awful. He looked so helpless.

And when he looked at me...

What?

He hated me.

Oh, man, he didn't hate you.

Danny, he did.

It was like it was all my fault.

I don't know what to do.

Danny, please help me.

I never wanted him to be deaf.

I never wanted him to look funny and sound funny.

Well...

Jenny, it tears me in half.

I can't stand being here and I can't stand not being here.

It's no big deal. It's the way I feel.

I guess I'm like Jonah.

I don't have any words to say what I want to say.

(ENGINE STARTS)

It takes time, Mrs. Corelli.

We don't have any shortcuts.

How much time?

Jonah's life isn't gonna stop and wait for him

to learn to speak.

Repetition is the key. You keep saying that,

but Jonah's like an animal in a cage!

He might as well be in the zoo.

He's in a cage, Mrs. Corelli. I didn't put him there.

I'm trying to help him get out of it.

But he's not getting out of it!

It takes time. And what will he be like then?

What will he be like when he gets out of that cage?

Like you and me. No, he won't. He's not like you and me.

He'll never be like you and me!

He'll be as much like you and me as we can make him.

He'll be as much like you and me as a parrot is.

Oh, Mrs. Corelli, you're not being...

Tell me about the children who fail.

You said sometimes children fail.

What happens to them?

Tell me!

They remain deaf, Mrs. Corelli.

Hi.

My name is Jenny Corelli.

Could we talk for a minute?

Deaf. We can't hear.

Yes, l know!

My son is deaf.

I saw you in speech therapy upstairs.

Um...

My son goes to speech therapy.

My son... Speech therapy.

(MOUTHING)

Could we talk together?

Maybe we could have lunch?

Get...

No. Oh, damn.

I'm sorry. Um...

Write.

Oh.

You want to meet deaf, deaf...

Pardon me?

You want to meet deaf...

I'm sorry, I don't understand.

Would you like to meet some deaf people?

Yes. I would like to meet some deaf people.

You can come to our club for the deaf.

A club for the deaf?

Yes. Deaf people like to associate with each other.

So we have the club.

Would you like to come?

Sure! If it would be all right.

Yes, you can meet many different people.

We're not all the same.

Thin, fat, big, little,

smart, not so smart. Okay?

Thanks.

I'm nervous. You sure you want to do this?

No.

This is 356. Let's go in.

Listen, we passed a movie back there.

Do you want to go see Star Wars?

I saw it.

Do you want to go see it again?

Come on, we've come this far. Take a deep breath.

What do you think it will be like in there?

Quiet. (BOTH LAUGHING)

(JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)

(INAUDIBLE)

Hi.

Hi, Janice. Hi, Paul.

This is my friend, Connie.

Connie? Yes!

Hi. Hi, how are you?

JANICE: I brought a friend to interpret for us.

JENNY: What? She brought me to interpret for you.

Hi, I'm Kate.

Hi, Kate. I'm Jenny. This is Connie.

Hi. Hi.

Is it too loud for you in here?

A little.

Sorry, can't hear.

Paul thinks that you must be wondering about the music.

That you won't believe everybody here is deaf.

Well, we did think it was going to be quiet.

Well, you know, many deaf people have some hearing

and those who don't can still feel vibrations.

Oh.

Want a drink? Oh, yes, thank you.

I'll have a ginger ale.

A ginger ale?

Uh, that's okay. I'll have a beer.

Now you know how it feels to be a deaf person.

Have to settle for something you don't want

just 'cause no one understands you.

She wants a ginger ale.

A beer.

Want to sit down? Oh, yes, thanks.

Shall we sit here?

Okay, um, excuse us.

Janice, you speak really well.

Oh, thank you.

Paul is born deaf.

That's why it's a lot harder to learn how to speak

when you're born deaf.

And Janice became deaf at the age of...

Seven. KATE: Seven.

So she already knew how to speak.

That's why it's a lot easier to understand her.

JENNY: Ah, thank you, Paul.

Woody, this is Jenny and Connie.

Hi. This is Woody.

Hi, Woody.

KATE: He's saying you have deaf children.

Uh, have you taught your children sign language,

he wants to know.

Oh, no. It's a big controversy, I guess.

All the hearing people think it's a big controversy.

But we deaf, no.

Want to learn some sign?

Um, okay. Yeah.

Oh, he's going to teach you animals.

'Cause that's the first thing he learned when he was a kid.

Now, you have to guess what they are.

(CHUCKLES)

A dog? A rabbit?

A rabbit? I'm right. Rabbit. Right.

That's a turtle!

KATE: Easy.

Now, watch his face.

Condor? What is that?

What does it feel like?

A snake!

That's right.

(ALL LAUGHING)

You want to teach them some sign?

How. How.

Why. Why.

BOTH: Why.

KATE: What.

BOTH: What.

Oh, happy.

Sad. Sad.

Funny. Funny.

(LAUGHING)

KATE: How are you?

How are you? How...

Fine! Fine.

KATE: Lousy.

Oh, lousy.

That's fun!

Were you afraid when you came tonight?

A little.

When I was a little girl

I used to wonder

why people are afraid of deaf people.

It made me very angry.

When I was older, I was sitting on a bus, once,

and a blind man got on the bus.

He came with a cane, down the aisle,

tapping on the floor. And he got very close to me,

and I was thinking,

"Don't sit down next to me. Don't sit down next to me."

And then he came right up next to me

and he turned around and he sat down in the seat beside me.

I started to cry.

And I sat there crying and I thought,

"I'm afraid. That's why people are afraid of me."

And so I knew,

and I made up my mind not to be angry at people anymore.

If they were afraid of me,

I would try to make them feel not afraid.

Well, at least we know deaf kids grow up.

Yeah.

I want Jonah to learn sign language.

I want to learn sign language.

I hate to lose a child to deafness, Mrs. Corelli,

but maybe you're right.

You asked about children who fail.

Oh, I don't think it's Jonah who's failed.

I think I've failed him.

How do you mean?

It's funny,

all this time I've been pretending he wasn't deaf.

Pretending?

Pretending that he could be just like everyone else.

Just like you and me, I think you said.

We teach him to talk, we teach him to read lips,

and if he could learn to do that, then he wouldn't be deaf anymore.

Well, many children learn to do those things.

Perhaps if we'd had Jonah earlier.

But we didn't! We have him now,

and I think we're trying to make him into something that he's not.

We've been trying to help him live in the world as it is,

where people speak to each other and listen to each other.

Oh, if we can do this for a child we've given him a great gift.

If a child cannot learn to do it,

there's plenty of time for him to be deaf.

That's just it. He is deaf.

There's no virtue in that, Mrs. Corelli.

And there's no point in pretending he's hearing, either.

It's still a hearing world.

Yes, it is.

I guess it's up to those of us who love Jonah

to help him live in it deaf.

Mrs. Corelli.

I won't allow Jonah to use signs while he's in our classes.

Do you think it's contagious?

When I was a young woman, just beginning to teach,

children who signed had their hands tied.

I've seen Jonah with his hands tied.

I won't allow signing.

And I've got to choose what's best for Jonah.

(MOUTHING)

(BELL RINGS)

What? Oh. Table.

What's that? Boy. Boy.

Boy.

A girl. Girl.

(INAUDIBLE)

Oh, Jonah.

I love you!

I love you!

Clock.

(QUACKING)

What have you got? Oh, look, it's a turtle!

What does that mean?

Dead. The turtle's dead.

It's dead.

Dah?

Hi, Grandma. Hi.

Will you keep an eye on these two for me?

I need to run and get some things.

Sure, go ahead.

JONAH: Hah-ahm.

What?

Oh.

Hmm?

JONAH: Dah?

Turtle.

Dah?

Dead, yes.

Oh.

Show me dead.

Dead.

How do you say I love you?

Jonah knows it, too.

Hi, Mrs. Corelli. Hi.

You want to see the principal?

Mr. Barkley's in the cafeteria.

It's the door over on your right.

You can meet him in there if you like. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay.

Welcome. Come on, Jonah.

Oh, are you finished?

Um, Anthony...

Oh, Anthony hasn't read it yet.

Okay. Did you make friends with Spider-Man?

Yes!

Are you hungry? No.

You sure? Yes.

Are you nervous?

No. A little bit?

Little bit.

(INDISTINCT)

Hello. How you doing? Hi. Great.

Good to see you! This is Jonah! Hi. Yeah, you too.

What, Caroline? What do you want?

What's his name? Why don't you ask him yourself?

What is your name?

(INDISTINCT) J-O-N-A-H.

My name is

Jonah!

Jonah.