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Children of a Lesser God

“She is the most mysterious, independent, beautiful, angry person he has ever met. He is the first man who has ever gotten close enough to love her.”

1986 · 1 h 59 min
Directed by Randa Haines · USA · American Independent Cinema
DramaRomance

Where to watch in the United States: Stream: MGM Plus · Free: Kanopy, Hoopla · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home. Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDB; availability changes.

Cast

William Hurt Marlee Matlin Piper Laurie Philip Bosco Allison Gompf John F. Cleary

Credits

Written by: Mark Medoff

Plot

Starting his new job as an instructor at a New England school for the deaf, James Leeds meets Sarah Norman, a young deaf woman who works at the school as a member of the custodial staff. In spite of Sarah's withdrawn emotional state, a romance slowly develops between the pair.

Sinekatalog’s take

A tender romance between a teacher and a proud deaf woman, notable for how it treats communication, pride and compromise. The leads are expressive and the emotions are credible. Moving and thoughtful, even if the drama occasionally feels theatrical.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

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Awards

Ratings

IMDb: 7.2 / 10 (20,278 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 80/100
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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