La Famille Bélier became my favourite film of the year as soon as I saw it for the first time in 2014. I liked it not because it was a foreign indie film or because I'm a fan of musicals, but because it was different from formulaic teen singing flicks like Pitch Perfect (2012) or Bandslam (2009), which were popular at the time. The film was a heartwarming comedy-drama that checked the boxes of a teen coming-of-age story. But who would have thought there would be a remake a few years later?
Award-winning CODA finally became available on streaming after missing its chance for a theatrical release in Thailand last year due to Covid-19. It's an English-language remake of the French film and directed by Sian Heder. CODA is an acronym for a child of deaf adults, but it's also a musical term. So, it has a double meaning in this film because our lead character is a child of deaf adults. Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) is the only person who can hear in her deaf family, who work on a fishing boat. She's very involved in the family business, as they rely on her to be an interpreter to do business. However, Ruby's real passion is music. She realises her love for singing after joining the school choir, but when her family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
