The Silence of the Sea (2004 TV Movie) User Reviews

Wonderful remake of the 1947 Classic

[luiza do brasil · 9/10 · 9 January 2005]

The story starts in November 1941 in Nazi occupied France. A pretty, young and orphaned girl (late teens to early 20s) lives with her paternal grandfather, her only relative, in a comfortable villa. Proud but reserved, she gives piano lessons with unusual zeal and passion. One day, her house is invaded by the occupying Germans, and her parents' suite becomes the home of the local German Commander.

However, this Nazi is a refined Francofile, a classical pianist and composer. He's also extremely handsome, and tries to make this embarrassing situation as acceptable as possible.

This film is a remake of one of the best movies made in post World War II Europe, with a few adaptations to the original script, based on the novel 'LE SILENCE DE LA MER', published underground around February of 1942.

With a French actor speaking slightly (but not caricature) German accented French, the German lieutenant character is quite believable. His Aryan looks certainly confirms his "authenticity" as the cultured (French-like) though disciplined (German-like) Nazi; an enemy a refined girl could possibly fall in love with.

The original novel was practically a sacred book in France during the 1942-45 period, and a powerful symbol of the French Resistance. The 1947 film, due to budget and mainly personal and political problems, was, in hindsight, not as believable and well filmed as this new version. That said, the 1947 will probably always remain the definite version.

But, nevertheless, this new made for TV movie is well worth seeing for its timeless anti-war, pro-humanity themes. The gorgeous cinematography, and excellent performances by perfectly casted actors make it a pleasant experience for the eyes and the mind, regardless of all else, including the inevitable comparisons to the 1947 film and the novel. It is now playing on the cable TV "Eurochannel" transmitted by Satellite and "DirecTV" in the Americas, and should not be missed!

Love is restraint

[g-82113 · 9/10 · 23 April 2020]

'I like the sea because of its tranquility', 'I am very happy to meet a dignified old man and a silent girl here'. For the German officer, silence is the highest appreciation. All the emotions flow violently in silence and restraint, so beautiful to watch.

A great and touching film

[zutterjp48 · 9/10 · 26 March 2019]

"Le silence de la mer" is based on the book de Vercors , a French writer and member of the French Résistance that tells an impossible love story between a young French piano teacher and an German officer of the Wehrmacht. It's really a great and touching story: she plays German classic music . He is fully francofile and tries to have a conversation, but the only answer is always silence !! The performance of Thomas Jouannet, Julie Delarme and Michel Galabru are extraordinary.

I don't speak French but.........

[cornetarquin · 10/10 · 28 June 2005]

What a truly wonderful film. I have never seen the original but if it is better than this version it must be very,very good. I enjoyed the performances of the three main characters immensely and have watched the film time and time again. The strange thing is that I a don't actually speak French yet have been moved by the storyline and acting to want to watch it over and over again. I think I'm right in saying that this film hasn't been shown in England but with the addition of subtitles there is no reason it shouldn't. Channel Four Television recently had a 100 best war film programme that included many great films of that genre. In my opinion this is right up there with the best of them. Thanks to Pierre Boutron(Director) and stars Thomas Jouannet, Julie Delarme and Michel Galabru for a film that is simply a treasure.

Adieu, the first word she spoke to him, so was the last

[ExoticaCat · 10/10 · 23 May 2010]

A heart-wrenching story like this always devastates me, it leaves me hanging with no sense of closure, and I need a closure in order to move on.

This movie is exquisitely crafted, it's aesthetic idealism undertone saddens you with a sense of utterly helplessness at the end. The story is just so beautiful it's perfect, so perfect it's unreal and so unreal it's tragic...

The danger of a movie being idealistic is that it often detaches itself from reality and falls into the trap of self-absorbed indulgence, not the case for this movie, we were constantly reminded the presence of war, the hostility towards the invaders, the suppressed angry, the secret resistance underway, the self-sacrifice of the people, and the ultimately, the life and death.

On one side, we were presented with this German Caption Werner, he is almost perfect - he is noble, passionate, poetic, romantic, empathetic, compassionate, loyal and genuinely embraces French culture and literature; yet he is courageous and brave evidenced by the decoration of Iron Cross First and Second Class medals; oh, one more thing, did I mention that he is also strikingly handsome!! Any wonder a young maiden like Jeanne would fall for him? On the other side, his uniform alone is a constant reminder that he is a Nazi officer and he must have done more than just composing music to earn his Iron Cross. After the car bombing, he arrested the French Resistance couple leaving their son orphaned (pretty sure they will be executed later). Yes, it shows that he has different view of his position than his fellow officers, and he doesn't agree what German's plan for the French, but didn't he also say that he need to be loyal to his responsibilities and duties? His conscience torments him, he doesn't know what to do, but does he have a choice? I am glad that this movie does show us the darker side of him, and the awful things his duties requires him to do; without this, the whole story will be quite meaningless, just another painted over melodrama...

I watched this movie entirely in French with no subtitles, my pathetic French only allows me comprehend a few lines of conversation. That doesn't matter, by now I've watched many times and understand the entire story. There isn't much of conversation anyways, after all, this is a movie about Silence.

A movie like this has high demand for acting skills, and the two leads surely have delivered their finest performances, each fits his/her role perfectly with Thomas Jouannet as Capt. Werner Von Ebrennac and Julie Delarme as Jeanne Larosière.

Julie Delarme has brilliantly portrayed Jeanne's transformation from a silent fighter to a woman slowly taken over by love struggling at the verge of total surrender. She is fragile yet strong, passionate yet rational, under her cold surface is a violent sea of emotion turbulence. Julie Delarme has mastered every little twists and turns of Jeanne's emotions: the resentment towards the enemy, the stubbornness of maintain her dignity and pride, the nervous glancing at him, the anxious waiting, the stir by his speeches, the longing for his presence, the yearning of his touch, the drowning in his eye, the intoxicating by his music, the wrestling between right and wrong, the anxiety of saving his life, the numbing pain of seeing him leave, the final burst in desperation to reach out to him, the emptiness of the void he left behind...

Thomas Jouannet just as magnificently portrayed Werner as a musical composer turned Nazi officer who was torn in between his love to music, literature, the sea and Jeanne, and his obligation bond by his family tradition and his vow to serve his country. He has chosen an unique way to express himself not as a fearful conqueror but a warmhearted human being. It worked, with each heartfelt speech, he chisels away the ice in the air, warms up her heart and brings her closer. The gap can never be closed with the war and fate of the two countries lie between them, and with each of them stubbornly holds his/her last ground and dignity. It doomed from beginning.

Both Thomas Jouannet and Julie Delarme have beautiful and expressive eyes, given the dialogue is limited, the unspoken, suppressed yet fiery passionate love are communicate through their eyes and gestures. No doubt they know each others love, the eyes betrayed each of them long before any words has spoken. I love the chemistry between the two, it's heart aching to see the tension of love so evident and restless and getting stronger and stronger ready to climax, yet there is nowhere to release and escape, like watching bubbles rising from the water but they can never reach the surface.

It beautiful, quiet movie but delivers anti-war message louder than any battle fields guns. If Werner and Jeanne can't be together, you really should think seriously what is wrong with this world...

A Masterpiece

[qingshengrusu · 10/10 · 16 April 2013]

I had just finished reading Vercors' novel when I heard about this film. I found Vercors' writing so perfect that I couldn't imagine any cinematic adaptation to be able to surpass it. But the film is such a wonderful surprise! It remains faithful to the novel where necessary and where it takes the liberty to change the story line, it does so with full justification and with a finesse that arguably exceeds that of Vercors' novel. Take for example the role of Bach's music. It plays only a subsidiary role in the novel, but in the film it has become the milestones in the development of the plot: Vercors has only briefly mentioned that the heroine plays the piano, whereas in the film, the first encounter between the hero and heroine takes place exactly when the heroine was playing Bach's Prelude No 1. Immediately this moment becomes emotionally charged.

Also the novel only mentions in passing that the German officer on a certain morning begins to play the piano, whereas in the film, he does so on the Christmas' Eve, where he and the French girl for the first time have the chance to be alone with each other. The German officer's performance becomes thus a powerful declaration of love.

Not to mention the strongest scene of the film: the moment the French girl plays Bach's Prelude No 2 in order to save the German officer's life. This scene is entirely the invention of the filmmaker!

There are many more subtleties to be discovered in this film. The filmmaker has attended to the smallest detail, even the barely audible background conversations in the original German language. Everything carries a meaning and contributes to the dramatic tension in this film. It's particularly enjoyable to study the various forms and perspectives from which the filmmaker sets the figures on the scene: whether as a real person or as a mere shadow on the door or as a mirror-image...

It's a great story rendered in great form. And this makes it not only an entertaining film, but a real work of art.

Love between two human beings

[popofish · 10/10 · 2 March 2021]

This is one of the most touching romance films I have seen.

To me, this is a typical french movie (for TV in this case), which only shows you the normal life, nothing glamour or adventurous. Even during wartime, people lived their lives as usual, although someone got arrested, someone escaped, someone starved, but it is still the everyday life. Either the french piano teacher or the German captain, they went to work, they got food. Love grows without external excitement, between two human beings who are supposed to be enemies. Some of my friends found their love baseless, since the protagonists rarely talk to each other. Yet, I find that the love cannot be more natural. For young people, beautiful and youthful faces, strong and graceful gestures, poetic words and loving eye contacts, these are more than what love needs.

The movie is also very erotic in some ways without nudity, hugs, kisses etc . The actors are very good at talking with their eyes. This movie is such a delight. I have watched too many movies to be easily moved, and I am so glad I found this one. Also because of the background of the plot, the conversations are quite simple, and easy to understand even when you know only a little french.

Worse on all aspects than the previous version

[kumarguptamaurya · 6/10 · 4 August 2022]

Sentimental crap,watch the Jean Pierre Melville version of it made in 1949. The original has many philosophical themes which this version casually leaves out.

Amazing

[yunchents · 10/10 · 6 May 2020]

I came across this film on youtube; it's one of the most powerful WW2/romance movie I've ever seen. Very sensational. I couldn't help watching it over and over again. The performance for the actors were great; I never knew how movies can deliver message and stories like this.

Gave me the good shiver

[Caroline888 · 9/10 · 25 January 2010]

Ususally, I don't watch recent WWII dramas, especially those taking place in occupied France. Honestly, they're often much too depressing, and they seem to delight in the horror of the situation and to shy away from delving into what human dignity, love, and self-sacrifice may have still surfaced, even between opposing sides. But this film was not depressing at all, although it didn't avoid the realities of what Nazis (even, apparently, hot sensitive caring musical Nazis) were doing to those who opposed them. It didn't romanticize at ALL, and yet it was not depressing as most Nazi-centric films. The film WAS frustrating. During the penultimate scene - I won't spoil it, for those with no eye-control - I couldn't breathe at all. But when I started breathing again I got that good shiver that separates the Art from the "merde." The strength of this film was its commitment to truth. The slightest cinematic indulgence - or audience-indulgence - would have ruined it, turned it into a fantasy, and made it a mediocre melodrama. But the brilliant writer and director avoided that pitfall, and let life show through in all its brilliance.

Of unspoken feelings....

[cesarat37 · 9/10 · 28 February 2021]

Not your average Nazi bad guy here. The approach is totally different. Few films have moved me as much as this one. With a lump on my throat for the last 30 minutes. Despite the title, (classical) music plays a key role in this made for TV masterpiece. Emotional rollercoaster. A must see. (2 thumbs up).

Very Impressed!!

[sagresta-85297 · 10/10 · 24 April 2018]

This is coming from a lover of horror movies. Don't like sappy romances but I happened across this movie last night and while it was in French (no parle vous) I totally got the gist of the movie. I watched the entire film, beginning to end and LOVED it!!! If you can get past the subtitles or lack there of you'll feel the same. Great but sad ending as usual.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Soulmates

[joeyneal-80607 · 8/10 · 12 July 2020]

I don't speak or understand French but i've been watching this movie (with english sub) over and over... It's actually irritating that she never gave him a chance to tell her what he wanted to tell her when she caught him in the room holding her mom/dad's pic because grandfather came in.. i love the way they looked at each other it's so intense i can hardly breathe.. i always cry when she finally ran after him just so she can tell him goodbye.. and he gave her a faint smile i wish there's a continuation to their story😊

Absolutely fabulous

[luizarotareasa · 9/10 · 2 April 2019]

Le silence de la mer

, Le silence de la mer" is a french romantic drama directed by Pierre Bourton.The film was realesed in 2004 and is based on the book with the same name by Jean Bruller(1942).The plot follows the unrecognized love story between a german captain,stunningly potryed by Thomas Jouannet and,as today's generation would call it, ,,the girl next door" played by Julie Delarme. The story takes place in 1942,during the Second World War, when the captain is moved in Jeanne's (Julie Delarme) and her grandfather's(Michel Galabru) house. Along the entire movie, the atmosphere is gripping and intriguing, and at some points, well, dramatic. As the plot unfolds, we are witnesses at a slow, though visible and undiniably special connection between the two protagonists. Julie Delarme has an absolutely astonishing debut,showing lack of interest in the man but at the same time quietly requesting his attention.Thomas Jouannet,on the other hand is a perfect fit for the role,thanks to his characteristic seriousness.He flawlessly succeeds in showing a careless attitude,whilst doing small,romantic gestures for his host. The setting, the filming skills that include long-lasting panoramas of a certain moment and the soundtrack contribute to the atmosphere that the movie wants to achieve. Although it might seem so at the beginning, ,,Le silance de la mer" is not your typical cliche ridden movie. So if you are looking for the unpredictable romantic drama movie,this certainly does the job.

Enjoyed it

[sadoo-68430 · 10/10 · 14 December 2018]

The chemistry between the leads is great and i now they were enimies by all means but why is it so dry. They didn't even touch :(

WW2 romance movie

[l-81150 · 9/10 · 10 July 2022]

This is one of most touching romance movie I've ever seen. Without a single line, the hidden love between the German Commander and the French girl was told through their eyes.

Kept me bewitched- WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!

[xykatexy · 10/10 · 21 November 2023]

I first stumbled upon Suite Francaise, then I saw this below just as a recommendation. I was hesitant as it was late and I had no time for another movie- but I stayed up for this and THANK GOD I DID.

This story of a French girl in an occupied France in WW2 and a German officer occupying her house and her deceased parents' bedroom is nothing but remarkable. The first half of the movie is relatively calm, grips your attention with a comfortable pace, but is milder than the second half.

In the second half of the movie, I was holding my breath subconsciously. Just as Jeanne was not able to constrict her emotions, so you, too, in front of the screen, feel her struggle.

The soldier, Werner, trying to talk to them every night was very interesting to me. He seems to have been trying to get some human touch out of the people he's living with, sharing his own turmoils, if with not so many words, but enough for us to realize that he is not simply a monster.

The love story is transparent, everpresent, restricted and fragile. It feels like my heart was being squeezed by clouds. I cannot tell you whether this movie has cinematic quality, or if it's worthy of any awards- but it is worthy of your time, for sure.

WARNING- Some spoilers below.

I absolutely love the pairing of the two scenes: when she sits to play the piano for the first time while Werner is in the house and it builds up to the explosion. Her frantic playing trying to save him, his eyes lighting up in wonder and hope, a minute of silence- he tries to leave, but she opens her eyes wide and stares at him with no restraint for the first time, and just minutes later- boom. He realizes right away what has happened. Stunning!

The fact that in the entire movie, she tells him only one word- only one, but even that word is not as impactful as their eyes.

Another thing I appreciate: people don't die of love, or lack thereof, and this movie is a great reminder of that. The flower pot as a symbol of resistance is a genius touch at the ending- both resisting the occupation and refusing to give up on life just because you love someone you will never see again. She never abandons her values, and I love it!