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The Miracle Worker

1962 · TMDB 7.9

Directed by Arthur Penn

The true story of the frightening, lonely world of silence and darkness of 7-year-old Helen Keller who, since infancy, has never seen the sky, heard her mother's voice or expressed her innermost feelings. Then Annie Sullivan, a 20-year-old teacher from Boston, arrives. Having just recently regained her own sight, the no-nonsense Annie reaches out to Helen through the power of touch, the only tool they have in common, and leads her bold pupil on a miraculous journey from fear and isolation to happiness and light.

Why it matters

Anne Bancroft's Annie Sullivan battles to break through to Helen Keller, a deaf-blind child trapped in a world of fury and frustration. The film's famous water-pump scene is a landmark of cinematic breakthrough, a moment of pure, earned triumph.

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