‘Cries of Silence’

109 minutes

Unrated

Showing at Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869.

This drama focuses on one of the most intriguing issues in modern child psychiatry: the ability of a young child to learn, speak and become emotionally attached in a depraved setting. The story takes place on an isolated island in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Camille has struck. A teenage girl is found on the shore. She does not communicate or interact with anyone, including the doctor (played by Kathleen York) who found her and takes her in. No one on the island claims to know the girl. While trying to learn of the girl’s identity, the doctor succeeds in gradually coaxing the girl out of her silence. A major question is whether the girl ever spoke. For if she did, that would imply that someone looked after her and that she has the intellectual capacity to speak again. Ultimately, the film delivers a message about the power of maternal bonding.