Silenced (2011)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Just perfect...

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

This movie is incredibly powerful, at some points i couldn't hold my tears.The movie has portrayed true events in a masterfully done way. The cinematography/atmosphere and the music are superb.This movie really made me sad and angry at the world at the same time. At some points in the movie i wished i could be there and take a gun and take justice in to my own hands.It portraits the true nature of how evil and disgusting human beings can be. The sheer fact that the system and those who "abide" the law are corrupt, and still manage not to give a damn about what happened to those children, is beyond my understanding.The movie got me frustrated at many points and i just wanted to punch the protagonist in the face for not taking justice in to his own hands. You see evil in front of you and you see that the majority of the people running the system, the laws are bad and corrupt, and you think by yourself, why not punish all those evil bastards? and i don't care how it is done, as long as they get punished.At some point one gets the realization that there is no hope in this world. Our society is run by sociopaths and psychopaths. It shows that money can do anything, and that human life and a child's innocence means nothing to those in power. I'm really angry after watching this movie and so sad at the same time... i can't keep getting this movie out of my head.This movie deserves an Oscar and should be seen by everyone! 8.8/10

Sunny and Silenced are two Korean films I have watched in 2012 and both are excellent. Silenced is a poignant and depressing movie based on a true event that happened in a special school where the deaf children are abused by the Principal and teachers. In the first half of the movie, the horrible abuses are unveiled one by one. The second half is a courtroom drama.The movie is an emotional ride which tugs at your heartstrings. At the scene in which the teacher is on the verge of tears and the boy cries his eyes out and struggles to express his overwhelming pent-up emotions upon knowing that his grandmother has forgiven the culprit, some members of the audience will be moved to tears. Where might is master, justice is servant, which is cruel, but real. It is also uplifting to see the teacher remain steadfast in his determination to bring the culprits to justice, despite his daughter's plight.As for the setting, the misty mountains and creepy campus create an eerie atmosphere. I also love the montage at the beginning of the movie. The kid is just like the deer, innocent and pure.The perversion of justice prevails when Christians are blinded by their unquestionable faith, teachers are heartless, policemen, lawyers, the judge and the security guard are corrupted by money, civil servants shirk their responsibility and shift the work onto others and others remain silent. Martin Luther King is right. In the end, we remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Amid those humans who are evil but influential in society, justice is shrouded in a thick gray mist.

Watched "Silenced" here on DVD with English subtitles. Didn't really know what to expect from the film before going in, but came out shaken, angered and left with the feeling of having seen a powerful film that can bring about positive change. The basis for the movie is purported to be based on a true story which makes things all the more striking. Having not watched "Children..." a Korean movie that came out earlier this year also based on a true story, my closest point of reference is Bong Joon-Ho's by now classic film "Memories of Murder". "Silenced" doesn't possess the master of cinema feel that "Memories of Murder" has, nor does it have the first mover advantage in its story, but "Silenced" is able to deliver the same (if not more) type of jolt to the viewer which is really saying something. Some criticism I had for the film were 2 scenes felt just too graphic and a few other times the movie seemed to carry a far too simpleton feel, but in hindsight I'm guessing both of these points originated from the filmmaker's desire to have maximum impact with the largest group possible. In that case, the filmmaker got his wish. While walking out of the theater I did feel energized from having watched something so moving and also filled with fear & anger at just how wicked some parts of society can become. Performance wise, I thought Gong Yoo was good and Jung Yu-Mi was her usual great self. There was a final scene with Gong Yoo holding a bible in the middle of the street that didn't move me as much as I thought the scene wanted. Maybe I was just too exhausted from having witnessed humanity at its darkest hour prior to that. The movie also featured large amounts of court-room drama in the second half which I really enjoyed. "Silenced" has already brought in a lot of people into the theaters in South Korea and also opened a lot of eyes to the injustices that occurred in South Korea just a few years ago (2005). I think "Silenced" is a film that will likely leave you in a state that only a few others films probably can. Be prepare to be moved when you watch it.

Gang In-ho takes a job working at a school for the hearing impaired in Gwangju. The movie opens with him driving to the school (and having an accident) about the same time as a young boy from the school commits suicide by walking in front of a train. From almost the beginning of his time at the school, he notices that something seems out of kilter. The school seems almost dark and unfeeling. The students not particularly friendly and one teacher is just damned mean. The movie focuses on two sisters, one of whom is especially stand-offish and the other, unfriendly and with issues about eating and their brother who seems to be bloodied and bruised worse every time he comes to class. We eventually learn that the two girls are being abused physically and sexually by the Principal and the Asst Principal with the knowledge of one female teacher, the security guard, a local police officer and at least one staff member (who is abusing the boy both physically and sexually) The teacher enlists the help of Seo Yu-jin, a human rights activist to help the children (and him) Initially they find little support for their cause. The police are totally disinterested in what Yu-jin tells them. Partially because here in Korea making the establishment look bad is not something people do readily and partially because the police officer is a fairly high ranking figure within the department. Finally, they turn to YTN News. And a reporter does an interview with the children that is seen on TV throughout Korea. The police reluctantly spring into action and arrest the principal, asst principal and the teacher -- no one else. The movie then moves onto the second trial. The children are 'raped' again, this time by members of the establishment. The Superintendent for Public Instruction and the defense lawyer try to bribe the teacher into ending the case. When he refuses, they pay off the aged and mentally feeble grandmother of the children. The local evangelical community rallies to the defense of the principal. The prosecutor seems to be on the side of justice, but in the end, it appears he left the children hanging out to dry. The movie is extremely graphic and painful. The rape scenes are not glossed over and the physical abuse of the oldest brother is difficult to watch. But more painful, is the end of the trial where the audience is left frustrated, angry and saddened by the way these three children (and their dead brother) are left with nothing even remotely resembling justice. What makes this hard to take is that, while the movie is based on the events, the events still happened and they were as horrid as the movie describes. And were it not for the book and this movie some of these people would have continued with their lives as if nothing had happened. A definite 10.