CODA movie: Must See

Saw CODA yesterday with my daughter, who is hearing impaired (hearing aid + cochlear implant), but often feels more comfortable using sign language. CODA (acronym for Child of Deaf Adults) is about a fishing family in Gloucester, MA, deaf parents and adult son, hearing teenage daughter who has long been the family’s interpreter to a world ignorant of ASL and deaf culture. As the daughter begins to dream of attending music school, her family struggles to understand why she would leave them and what doing so might mean for their livelihood, their future, and their family bond.

I can not recommend this wonderful—funny, dramatic, joyous, authentic, tear jerking (in the best way)— movie highly enough. It is in theaters in major cities and also streams on Apple TV. Seeing it in a theater after so many months in lockdown was a revelation, especially the singing (the teenage daughter has a beautiful voice) and the signing in ASL, which is accompanied by captions.

Go see CODA, yourself or with your teenager/young adult.