Voice of Silence (2020) User Reviews

a little bit...

[ops-52535 · 6/10 · 19 January 2021]

Slow, its gros and brutal yet as being emotional and full of human dynamics at many levels. productionwise it has the grand spacious shoots where many elements are within one frame, the score though not the usual perfection, and the acting is allright enough but its a bit of a waiting game, so may you be the curious cat to be able to lick the spilled milk, i did and dont regret it.

a small recommend though from the grumpy old man

Strong message driven scents vibes as same as Burning (2018)

[chachareal · 7/10 · 8 February 2021]

Ok so this is a kind of movie which doesn't specifically fits into any genre, it has the vibes of burning in second half and the first half was slow paced dark humor. The story was nothing out of ordinary but when the first half started it felt as if it has to be 10/10 but there was a lot of loose ends and talking about the ending the film isn't about the character development but it completely depends upon the audience point of view and it plays with it towards the end. If you aren't a fan of slow burning, slow paced, dark humor then this movie isn't for you. And cheers to Yoo Ah-in for perfectly portraying his role.

Bland fare.

[prafull-ambekar · 5/10 · 10 January 2021]

Nothing much happens throughout the movie. Watch it for the little girl. She's cute and her innocence and her maturity is very endearing.

You cannot have the best of the both worlds.

[TaylorYee94 · 7/10 · 15 February 2021]

There are many ways to categorize the movies. I sometimes divide movies into two: one which builds up the story & tension dynamically and another (calmer narrative) which focuses on characters' emotion and message. If the director succeeds in either one of the two, he or she can make a fabulous movie. If the director grasps both aspects, the movie achieves the level of masterpiece.

'Voice of Silence' is mediocre because the story is never fully developed and it is hard to figure out what the movie is trying to say. Interesting topic that a guy who digs up the dead body (one thing leads to another) becomes a kidnapper. It is a good start. However, the whole movie is at sea, floating around, never diving deep in the water. It seems like the director wants to highlight characters' emotions and breaks traditional storyline. However, without solid storyline, this inventive try of breaking the stereotype is no use. It looks rather pretentious and empty.

Some scenes are out of line. People killing the victim and all the blood.. well it's permissible in the movie. However, killing a person in front of a kid, carrying the dead body in front of her, AND she being okay with it such as helping a guy picking up the blood-stained tissue and as drawing a flower out of dead person's blood is beyond horror, almost inhumane. Very disturbing and distorted directing.

Nice movie

[leonidasstathopoulos · 7/10 · 8 April 2021]

Two eccentric men, cleaners of crime scenes by order, they are given a mission, different than their dirty job...A mess is about to begin.

Plays with our sympathies

[hswasserman · 7/10 · 5 November 2023]

This is a very interesting film. A girl is kidnapped by a couple of low level guys that work for a criminal organization and aside from the obvious fact that they should not have kidnapped her otherwise they seem to be stand up guys.

The girl certainly is a stand up person. Right away she befriends and looks out for the mute guy's sister and she tries to make the best of things. She cleans up the hovel and is on friendly terms with the kidnapper. Again, aside from having kidnapped her he is portrayed as a fairly sympathetic character who does not want any harm to come to her.

His partner ends up dying in an almost comical way. He collapses against a wall and expires in a seated position. It's kind of sad to see him that way, particularly as he is the mute guy's good friend and had looked after him for many years.

When a cop finally comes to investigate, because the mute guy is portrayed as a sympathetic character I could not help rooting for him and being glad when he appears to kill her.

In the end he does the right thing, saves her from the child traffickers, and brings her back to the school. It's a telling moment, altho no one should be surprised, when she fights with him to let go of her hand and she rushes into the arms of her teacher. It's interesting that we never see her parents. We are given the impression they don't care about her but I don't know if that's the case. It is an interesting choice to not show the guy getting arrested or shot. He just sort of wanders off. We don't need to see him arrested because it's clear this is the end of the road for him. The girl is back with her parents, people see that he was the kidnapper, and the cops are waiting for him back at his house.

Anyway a brilliant film in how it plays with your sympathies. Obviously kidnapping is wrong. The guys surely knew working for a criminal organization was wrong. They don't deserve our sympathies. They get what they deserve. But at the same time they are sympathetic and we see their humanity. So the end result is it is very interesting.

Enjoyed it

[devon-vanhook · 7/10 · 23 August 2021]

Somewhat of an emotional roller coaster where things go from bad to worst then get better....or do they?

A relationship experiment

[xiaohei-80112 · 8/10 · 8 November 2020]

Great story with dark humor.About how a environment can affect on people personalities.Great cast especially Yoo Ah-in without a single line in the movie. and to the two kids act so natural. Great ending that leave us to imagine.

Drama but

[jsco5000 · 5/10 · 27 December 2020]

A good story drama movie but a bit boring. I benefited humanely and did not really enjoy the movie

Silent Clean up on aisle ...

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 26 June 2021]

Korean movies can be quite quirky ... but most of all Genre movies can be quite innovative. And what can you more wish for as a film fan than to be surprised and not really know where the movie will go next? What it has in mind and how crazy the characters are - and how fitting they are in the world they are portrayed in. This oozes with creative juices and it really is a fun watch ... well not always as fun for those involved obviously (yes this has violent tendencies and it may offend in certain moments some of the viewers who are easily offended/triggered anyway), but mostly for the viewers.

So go into this with an open mind and just enjoy the mayhem that unfolds ... with the right actors and the right dialog ... and sometimes the silent treatment ... it's not easy being in a criminal world.

Even the most ruthless and emotionless individuals can't help but feel concern because of innocent children, leading them to hope that the kids find happiness.

[noshouse · 5/10 · 10 December 2023]

This movie revolves around a child kidnapping case, cleverly depicting that even the most cold-hearted individuals can't help but reveal their concerns when faced with children. Such emotional transformations not only evoke a sense of touching moments but also resonate strongly with the audience deep within. Using the innocence of children as an emotional vessel, the film profoundly showcases the complexity of human nature. I believe the movie successfully conveys a societal phenomenon-how even the most ruthless people can show a softer side in the presence of children. At the same time, the protagonists struggle within the shadows of crime, facing a dilemma that is truly helpless; they must survive in the darkness.

In the film, the antagonist casually mentions, 'Making money on both sides is faster than extortion,' which made me feel the ruthlessness of real-world villains driven by personal gain. This deeply emphasizes how precarious people's choices can be in extreme circumstances. In summary, 'Voice of Silence,' with its profound emotional portrayal and reflection on the darker aspects of society, elicited a strong emotional resonance within me.

A package of silenced bond and unspoken love

[Misss25 · 8/10 · 25 April 2021]

I was keep avoiding this movie as the main lead was mute .It's easy to get distracted and hard to understand the body language. But proving me totally wrong, the actor did a fabulous job. Wow!! I could easily understand what he was trying to convey. I was truly amazed by his acting skills again and again.

Though the actor was voiceless, even didn't use sign language, it didn't bore me at all. I couldn't take my eyes from screen all the time, even so it doesn't belong to any mystery, thriller genre. The storyline is plain but pretty captivating. The two child artist played a amazing job filled with their cuteness. The growing bonding among three of them is so satisfactory . But, how it ended wasn't expected, it could have ended differently.

What a viscious movie

[pashalisthanasis · 1/10 · 17 August 2023]

In that movie they normalize the building of a relationship between an 11 years old girl and a criminal. That's pretty dangerous and that's the only content of the movie, there is nothing else.

Two guys who are working for cartels as cleaners get a request to monitor an 11-year-old kidnapped girl, but the situation gets worse when their supervisor gets killed.

Voice of Silence is a 2020 South Korean indie crime drama film written and directed by Hong Eui-jeong, from her screenplay which was selected as one of the top 12 projects at Venice Biennale College-Cinema 2016/2017 in 2016. It stars Yoo Ah-in and Yoo Jae-myung. The first feature directorial debut of Hong Eui-jeong, the film was premiered in South Korea on October 15, 2020.

We Become Monsters Without a Sound like This.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 8/10 · 13 March 2021]

When looking at the bundle of Korean films I had waiting to view from the 2021 Glasgow Film Festival,this was the title I somehow kept overlooking. Discovering it was about to leave the site,I quickly got set to enjoy the silence.

View on the film:

Not given a single word of dialogue, Yoo Ah-in gives a mesmerising performance as Tae-in, whose mumbled howls,slurred grows and detailed, agitated face,are used by Ah-in to keep the menacing state of Tae-in boiling, while bringing to the surface a understated sardonic side.

Finding his odd-job act with Tae-in to clean up crime scenes for criminal gangs goes off the rails when tasked to take care of a 11 year old kidnapped girl, Yoo Jae-Myung gives a blazing performance as Chang-bok, who scrambles to present a mature image,which Jae-Myung captures as coming undone the longer the kidnapping goes on for.

Hiding the kidnapped girl in the farmland outskirts of town, writer/director EuiJeong Hong makes a splendid feature film debut, via closely working with cinematographer Jung-hun Park to map out the land with stylish long-crane shots gliding on the brightly saturated landscape the kidnapped girl in miles away from returning to.

Joining the lads cleaning up the crime scenes, Hong hangs a wicked macabre atmosphere on the blood-wipes and whip-pans across the bumbling clean-up act of the duo.

Digging into the dirty underworld lives of the duo, the screenplay by Hong brilliantly blends tough,playful tension from Tae-in and Chang-bok entering a whirlpool where they become involved in a kidnapping far beyond their expertise, with a wickedly wry streak of comedy charged by the façade of their professionalism in crime,which unveils to a refined final note,as the voices fall silent.

Great movie and the appearance of Yoo Ah In

[itsmethao · 8/10 · 21 December 2020]

Although the movie is kinda subtle and no plot here, the movie can still touch me at some point. Yoo Ah In doesnt have a single line in the movie but he still show expressions through his eyes and he sacrificed so much for the character (gain weights). The little girl's acting skill was incredible.

Amazing dark comedy

[joaosantos20 · 10/10 · 17 February 2021]

This was quite surprising, one of the best dark comedies I've seen in a long time. Great actors especially the little girl. The story is simple brilliant.

Surprisingly Engaging

[westsideschl · 9/10 · 31 October 2021]

Korean crime drama in which an inept dual working for a crime syndicate are tasked with the messy dirty work. They are given the job of caretaking a kidnapping & ransom crime that has already gone awry when it's a little girl of a wealthy family instead of her more important little brother (i.e. Boys are more valuable than girls). Well-acted; many surprises.