If You Could See What I Hear
If You Could See What I Hear is a 1982 Canadian biographical drama film about blind musician Tom Sullivan, starring Marc Singer and Shari Belafonte, directed by Eric Till.
Plot summary
Tom Sullivan is a blind college student who wants to be normal. When not in class, Tom hangs out with his friend, Will Sly, who does not treat him like a blind person. In fact, he goes out of his way to challenge Tom. Tom likes to go jogging while Will leads him on his bicycle. Will leads him past obstacles such as park benches, shouting out "Bench!" at the last moment so Tom has to jump over it.On campus, Tom meets a black woman named Heather Johnson, with whom he falls in love. But she breaks off the relationship because "the black and white thing," coupled with Tom's blindness, is too complicated for her. Crushed by Heather's abandonment and experiencing loneliness, Tom continues to struggle with himself, still denying that his blindness affects his "normalcy". Then he meets his future wife, Patti Steffen, and his life changes irreversibly.
The movie is most famous for the scene where, while Tom is on the phone with Will, Patti's little sister Blythe falls in the family swimming pool and nearly drowns. Tom, upon realizing she is missing, manages to find her at the bottom of the pool and save her life. In reality, this extraordinary incident occurred several years after Tom's marriage to Patti; and the little girl he saved from drowning was, in fact, his own daughter, Blythe.