Cataldo Ribecco

The gentle, rhythmic pace of the plot accompanies the understanding of life without the sounds. The initial delicacy recalls silent cinema in which “the person” was central and not “the sound construct.”
The direction and screenplay pointed to the pragmatism of real life, in which ignoble “grievances” exist but from which no wars but acts of social resilience are born. Changing the pool because deafness is seen as an outrageous disease reflects mentally and culturally undeveloped and conservative societies. This key reading is ascribed to all social communities in which the different is not welcomed not accepted but discriminated against from birth.
The challenges inherent in disability are unexpected for the able-bodied; we do not realize how society in its customs is geared toward non-inclusion. Fire or other alarm systems rely on sounds to spread the alert--what about the deaf? Do all condominiums have inclusion in building construction? Routine inspections by the principals why don't they consider these “rules” from the perspective of inclusion?
Immersing oneself is one of the small steps one could take as Yong Jun ... and it is enlightening to realize how for the able-bodied the “usual” is profoundly distant from the surroundings experienced by the differently abled.
Thus, inclusion is the film's silent protagonist, hidden until Yeo Reum's confession of “existence.” She who was born hearing in a deaf family forces herself to live as a deaf-mute in order to bridge the inclusion that the rest of the world does not contemplate for her family by nullifying her life.
"Hear me" is a film as delicate as a snowflake, the centrality of the plot is critical of the presence of inclusiveness in our societies but also emphasizes the risk of “taking on everything.”