The immediate inclination would be to turn this into a sob story. But while there are some very powerful moments of sadness (particularly that poor woman in the asylum, unable to communicate with anyone), Herzog doesn't stand around pitying his subjects, and many (especially Fini) are quite capable and resilient in the face of their enormous obstacles. A very interesting look at an unfortunately neglected population.

I find it a very interesting and effective film to think about and read about, but whilst I'm actually watching it I'm not so very rapt. It has moments of greatness, but at the same time many scenes can feel overlong. I'm afraid this combined with the generally very cold tone (which in this particular case meant I had very little in the way of emotional connection with the film) often left me exasperated. It's very good but I can't work up any great affection for it.

It's a fascinating subject, but it's not one of Herzog's more interesting documentaries. I generally prefer the ones where he has a stronger narrative voice. In this one he mostly just lets the camera roll on that highly functional deaf-blind woman, which is only interesting for a short while. Highlights include the deaf-blind trip to the botanical garden, and the look at the deaf-blind children. I felt like I learned more from watching those children than I did during rest of the film.

Words become more hollow than ever. It's Herzog, and it's about deaf-blind people.

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All of the scenes are interesting, but most of them are carried out too long, well beyond the point where they have anything further to offer. This gives the movie an overlong feel, despite its rather short running time.

I would have preferred more screen-time for the children; I thought their situation was the most compelling. In fact, there were times when I forget Fini was even deaf and blind because she was so highly functional. Interesting concept, questionable execution. The ending has a strange beauty to it, though.

My worst nightmare, and one of Werner Herzog's least stylized and most compelling documentaries. It is by turns joyous and dismal, and always very moving. He focuses on a number of fascinating people, and I was really amazed at how fluently some of them communicate. Herzog just lets the footage roll without cutting too much, lending the film a very natural tone and pace.

Powerful.

While I wish they didn't split the film up between Fini and her mission to educate and help people like her and between the children who were deaf and blind from birth (easily the most interesting part of the documentary) I was still very much moved by this film. The end scene is exactly why I love Herzog. His ability to find beauty in the most dire and depressing of circumstances is incredible. A very interesting documentary idea only hindered by its lack of focus, see it for the kids.

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