The Silence of the Sky (2016) User Reviews

The consequences of revenge

[hof-4 · 7/10 · 1 February 2017]

Very good movie that reminds you of the best work of Claude Chabrol (not that there is any intention to imitate Chabrol). The violence that starts the action has a hard edge at the beginning, then its contours become more ambiguous; as in real life, facts may be seen in more than one way, and their interpretation depends on one's previous knowledge, that changes with time. The unintended horrors of vengeance are clearly shown.

Brazilian director Marco Dutra does an excellent job, and action moves forward smoothly. In my opinion, the movie dwells a little too much (and a little unconvincingly) on the main character's psychology, which may reflect the usual problems of translating a novel (by Argentinian Sergio Bizzio, who also wrote the script) into a screenplay.

Excellent work by Argentinian Leonardo Sbaraglia and Brazilian Carolina Dieckmann, the rest of the cast at the same level. The movie is an Argentinian-Brazilian coproduction and the scenario is Montevideo. halfway between the two countries. The title The Silence of the Sky is an exact translation of the Portuguese original; in Argentina the movie was titled "Era el Cielo" (it was the sky). Perhaps a little is lost in translation here since the Portuguese "céu" and the Spanish "cielo" both mean "sky" but also mean "heaven."

You can catch another excellent movie by Dutra, Hard Labor (2011) in the rental services. There are several movies based on Bizzio's writing or scripted by him, among them "Un Amor" (2011) directed by Paula Hernández and "XXY" (2007) directed by Lucía Puenzo.

Great script, not so good direction, irregular acting

[brunoccassiano · 7/10 · 27 July 2020]

This is a good movie. But it's the kind of movie you feel pity for, because it could have been a little masterpecie if it had a better direction and a better acting. Sbaraglia does a great job, but Carolina Dieckmann doesn't bring the complexity of her character and Chino Darín's role looks a bit stereotypical. Actually, the Uruguayan actress Mirella Paschoal, even in a much smaller role, has a much better performance than Dieckmann's.

Despite its flaws, The silence of the sky is a rather enjoyable film and keeps you connected to the story from beginning to the end.

Hated the Ending So I Read the Book

[bllbenton · 6/10 · 15 November 2021]

This movie's ending was so annoyingly obtuse that I purchased the book (Era el Cielo); used Google Translate to translate it to English and read it in its entirety. I don't know how translation software impacted the flow of the book, but the translated version was a rambling patchwork of paraphrastic persiflage.

There were significant differences between the book and movie treatment of Mario and Diana. In the opening rape scene in the book Mario noted: "Still motionless, I mentally backed toward the scene and I noticed that something had struck me beyond the rape itself: the softness, they treated her gently." ... "There were no screams or great struggles. Diana's "no" and "please" were followed some "shh" less heavy than air and still with an enormous capacity to smash." The movie's depiction was brutal.

Also, in the book Mario was poised to intervene in the attack: "I grabbed the poker, shook it in the air, and went into the house. I stopped when I heard moans. Through the hoarse, muffled moans of one of the men I also heard a moan from Diana, weaker and more sinuous and appearing and lost and reappeared, coiled to the man's groans like a thread barely narrowest between the hundreds of strands of a steel cable. That was enough to increase the weight of iron in my hand." Diana does not succumb in the movie.

The book ends with Mario conquering his fear of flying and going to his new job in Spain and the actions against the rapists are less conclusive/resolute than in the movie. He beats one up and telephones the other. "My life would be different if I had killed the blonde. It would be darker, more serious, sadder and, paradoxically, less thick. Without taking away a shred of love, he would have given Julian a murderous father. That's what stopped me. Right now, as I write, I relive the joy of having stopped and the relief I felt on the plane when I woke up and noticed that the fury for not having done so had also dissolved. The blond wouldn't approach Diana again, he wasn't dumb after all. A single phone call to the skinhead guy had been enough to make him whine and even plead. He wasn't dumb either: he knew perfectly well what I was telling him."

In the book Diana never discovers that Mario witnessed the rape and Mario has lingering issues with the rape and Diana. "In the same way that I could not tell Diana that I had witnessed the rape to which she had been subjected and that I had not had the courage to intervene, she had no desire to face a new separation, or even the possibility. She had already had too much. A rape is not the best "present" for any couple who has said let's start again. She must have thought so... It's true: her moaning, the moans I heard that stopped me just as I was about to enter don't even deserve the consideration of an excuse. Like then, I'm hurt now. There is not much more to say."

Lastly, the notion that Mario could get on a plane and leave his family near two un-incarcerated rapists who could easily commit the same act again (Diana would not call authorities or tell Mario upon his return) is even more purblind and less plausible than the movie's ending.

Ultimately, Era el Cielo is a horrible story that has no real upshot. Mario and Diana cannot and will not ever be whole again, there is only damage.

Enjoyable and intelligent suspense/drama, with one particular flaw

[reviewerB · 7/10 · 23 November 2017]

This is a pretty decent suspenseful drama. I love Argentinian thrillers and have watched quite a few with Leonardo Sbaraglia on them. He's indeed a great actor, which is, in tandem, an asset and a downfall of this movie. Sbaraglia is so good that he completely outshines Brazilian actress Carolina Dieckmann, whose work I've seen many times in soap operas. I understand that she's playing a rape victim and that that experience can really traumatize a person. I also understand that this movie is about silence, about what we do not say, but Dieckmann's lack of depth did not strike me as part of the plot. Why so monotone, monosyllabic and, dare I say, monofacial? Is it because Spanish is not her native language? If so, being a Brazilian myself, I'm really surprised that she could not memorize longer lines in Spanish and did not dare to open a wider mouth in order to pronounce them. It is not that difficult for a Brazilian to learn Spanish. In the movie, it was established from the beginning that her character was not Uruguayan (where the story takes place), so there was no need to hide her accent. Then why speak so little? They even gave her a Brazilian co-worker so that Dieckmann could speak a little more, in Portuguese obviously. When Dieckmann substitutes Sbaraglia as the narrator (also in Portuguese), the movie almost runs off the tracks. I can only guess she had a lot of difficulty learning the lines in Spanish and delivering them convincingly. It's a pity. We've seen many actresses and actors learn a new language for a movie and almost master its accent. We've seen many professionals transform their entire bodies for a character. It seems to me that this is a matter of how seriously you're willing to take your job. Sbaraglia himself wasn't afraid to look hideous and to behave like a disgusting asshole in El Otro Hermano. So, Dieckmann has a gorgeous face, but in this movie she completely lacked a personality. I'm sorry to say that this could have been a great film, if they had cast a more suitable actress for the part of Diana. On a brighter note, very watchable, enjoyable and intelligent suspense/drama, that gets you thinking about fear, identity, relationships, sharing, trusting, hiding and the extreme measures one is capable of taking.

Afraid much?

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 5 August 2017]

This starts off horrible. And I mean that in a way that if you are sensible you should have issues with the beginning of the movie. The violence depicted is devastating. It hurts just watching, your fists may clench and any decent human being will be at least sad and angry at the same time.

As if that wasn't enough, the same attack will be displayed a couple of minutes later from a different perspective. Which can be considered a neat trick to make the viewer relive this horrid experience. As if we were the victim, who are traumatized and have different ways of dealing with the incident. The woman here prefers silence, and it's a testament to her acting not speaking about things but conveying with her facial expression. She does not phone it in or is over the top.

The acting is top notch and the drama that ensues, while both husband and wife know what happened but do not communicate about it (for different reasons). It is not an entertainment watch, but it is really good. If you survive the first minutes which really are uncomfortable to put it mildly ...

Absorbing. A Slow-Growing Cactus of a Flm

[silvio-mitsubishi · 8/10 · 11 October 2018]

A good story told at a leisurely pace but with little waste. Diana's reasons for keeping the rape from Mario become clear in a naturalistic way, rather than being served up on a plate. Likewise Mario's inaction and smoldering desire for revenge. The weaknesses of his amateur sleuthing and her inability to get rid of evidence of the rape are minor niggles. Highlights include a sports coach sitting on the sideline while Mario pours his resentment into his children's tennis lesson, suspense about his first revenge attempt as it is delayed repeatedly, and the redemptive final scene, demonstrating the couple's overriding love. My first experience of Uruguayan cinema, and what a treat it was.

Deep. Tough. Moving.

[thatblondude · 9/10 · 1 June 2018]

Here's what you should know: this movie is one of the tough ones. And I mean that in the best way possible. It ended and I couldn't move. That's how hard it hit me. Couldn't move through the end credits, and even several minutes after. All that silence. That was powerful. Simple, and powerful. That, actually, may be the perfect way to describe the whole film. Then all I could think about was that I needed to write a review for this one, doing my part and letting people know they should watch it.

Also, if I can give you a little tip: watch it alone. Allow yourself to feel this one.

"When I met her, I told her that I had all the fears of the world". Sbaraglia's does it again.

[bola_de_pu · 9/10 · 11 September 2017]

I don't come expecting too much of these movie, I see the name Leonardo Sbaraglia and I knew since the beginning that even if the movie don't have a 7.0 rating on IMDb, the performance of Leonardo will change the balance on these one. An amazing actor and probably the best argentine perfomer of 21th Cetury along with Ricardo Darín. These movie is a raving psychological thriller that keep you interested if you're in the mood to see a complex movie that don't have heroes and don't have happy endings. Don't come expecting happy stories or relief when "the good guy kills the bad guy" or something like that because you will not find anything like that in these masterpiece. You will feel powerless along the course of this nightmare that will never end. And the sweet and sour taste will remain in your mind forever. These movie is about life, at the end, the good guys and happiness almost never win and even if it does, does not make up for everything it happen before. Like Mario says: "These don't have cure. My problem was not the plane, my problem is the sky". Everything.

Violent drama-thriller

[guisreis · 8/10 · 11 July 2021]

Well done and quite violent Brazilian-Uruguayan drama-thriller. Mysoginy and phobias as social deseases that cross the film.

Perfectly named

[rumanadu178 · 8/10 · 15 April 2020]

Loved the background story telling and how the story revolves. Leonardo Sbaragila at his best.