Reviews

School of horrors

Silenced is a South korean film released september 22 2011 Based on real life events. Silenced starts with the main character Kang In Ho who has moved to a new town to work at Gwangju Inhwa School for deaf children. Before he gets there he bumps into Seo Yoo Jin who gives her a ride to the school and tells him how she works with human rights organizations. When Kang In ho comes to the school he realizes that something is off about the students. From the way they would run away from him, or would avoid talking to him. When the students finally open up to him, he and yoo jin devotes himself to help the students receive their justice. “Silenced” being based on a true story makes it harder to figure out what the theme could possibly be. But the theme for this movie has to deal with injustice and the mistreatment of disabled people. The audience for this movie is for people 18 years and older. This movie contains graphic imagery of sexual assault and physical abuse . This movie was a heartbreaking watch, Knowing that this stuff happened in real life and that this movie doesn't even show the half of it. It hurt even more because you could feel the pain through the actors in this movies when they interact with each other. What is interesting about this is that after this movie was released it drew more attention to this case and caused public outrage. It even caused a change in laws and whole movements in South korea. This movie is such a moving piece on the insight on how humans can just be an absolute piece of shit. This description does not give them justice even worse than this. But this movie had me crying in the corner for minutes knowing that someone had to go through this and had to feel so small. But because of this reason I rate this movie a 10/10.

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A special ancestor to many horror movies

A lovely forebear of Evil Dead 2, it's animated by the same love of cinema and shares it with the same immoderate joy.
Another point in common is the use of arthouse-style editing effects with a half-horrific, half-humorous purpose and frenetic energy. And the latter creates some beautiful artistic moments amidst the chaos, such as the mirror scene and the piano assassination.
The then-young actresses have not enjoyed fantastic careers since, but I find them all convincing in what they were asked to do.
The older actress who plays the aunt is a pleasure to watch, having a ball as a very ham-handed villain.
The action scenes with Kung-Fu are surprisingly well done.

The film is dated, however, and whatever innovations it may have displayed on release, today some visual effects could look as if they'd been created with a bad free video editing app, and it's not always possible to overlook or sublimate them.
Fortunately, most of them are quite interesting, and add their share to an already rich and baroque editing style, set and props.
I don't have a strong opinion on the conclusion of the story, but it's a reasonable ending, yes.

The management of the music is perhaps one of the failures of this experimentation. On the one hand, I like the musical style's discrepancy with the film, but on the other, its constant use is both wearing and sometimes unsatisfactory. It's a flaw that could be applied to the film as a whole, which is highly lavish but just as messy.

A potential rewatchable winter classic as far as I'm concerned.

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Loved it!

I loved this sooooo much!! I was searching for a good K movie,then I wanted to try this and I think I found a genre that I love bully male student - female teacher. She is sooooo badass and I loved seeing that student get what he deserves.. I know it's unpopular but the absolute sexual tension between them was 🔥🔥. Tho obviously they are mortal enemies.. I really felt bad so bad for the bullied student! So trigger warning looots of bullying and blood and fights in general. I loved her dual faces, one is a cute airhead teacher and the other is badass boxer cat. This is a 10 for me.. It just hit every good spot

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Could have been much better, but definitely a one time watch

Watch the movie if you like street dance. Otherwise you'll sit here and complain that the movie wasn't good or that it was boring.

I did not like the camerawork and editing, during the dance sequences. Too much closeup when dancers performed, jerky movements. The editor could have done with less cuts because it takes away from the fun of watching dance. The same camera team and editor did a fine job for the rest of the movie!

Yibo's character was a darling. A boy who does multiple jobs while keeping his dreams alive. Yibo has gone through the pain, has trained for years, keeps learning even till date. He was able to bring the character to life. His expression after Chen's successful head spin in front of the crowd was so well captured!!!
SDC viewers know that it's Yibo's habit of going to the pro dancers and learning their movies during break time. The movie used this aspect so well in the end. I spotted one movement that he learnt in last year's SDC.

Chen's family is his support system. Both the actors who played his mom and uncle were well cast.
I had never seen Huang act before, he was convincing.
It was so nice to see some of the SDC dancers.
Yang Di's cameo shocked me, I didn't even know he was in the movie. Jiang's name in the movie is erlang hahahaha

The humor was in the right amount and in the right places. Many directors think the audience will get bored by the journey of a character and place a silly sidekick. I'm glad this movie had no such thing. It was good to show that not all dancers are able to continue, some give up coz of either an injury or financial troubles or just coz they aren't talented enough.

I loved how the last part of the movie was only about dance. Only the camera movement and cuts ruined my experience. I wish it was stable and kept a distance from the dancers' faces to let me enjoy the hard work of the team.

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Thanks for nothing...

I don’t really get why people are so hyped over this movie and why it has so many positive reviews. I was too before I watched it but the more I think about it, the more frustrated I feel. Not just because it’s disappointing, it also gives us nothing of real value (except for Kang Ha Neul’s and Jung So Min’s performance maybe). This review contains spoiler so let’s begin!

Story 4/10
Not just the cast of this movie caught my interest but also the premise. It sounded very interesting and I still think it had a lot of potential. That being said, you start to notice something is off right off the bat when the movie starts with our female lead calling off her wedding (or rather leaving her husband-to-be at the altar I guess? What a nice thing to do already!) on the day of the wedding while the male lead is being miserable (and not doing anything about it). And I know it’s used for comedic purpose but other than that (aside from not really being funny or entertaining) it provides NOTHING for the audience – we don’t even get a context for it. There was no real purpose for her having another wedding before except 1.) so her other wedding would be smaller and 2.) maybe showing that she’s not capable of marriage. Because let’s be honest… If you take the step to get married and call it off – run away - on the day of your wedding for someone else, almost on a whim, that’s not a good sign. But there was no real reason this story needed this other wedding (Jung So Min looks beautiful in that dress but it’s not a good writing choice. Then just have her wear it at her one and only wedding). The humor from the rest of the movie was mostly funny (not everything) but I had my fair share of laughs. So in this regard it’s not horrible but it might be in any other aspect.

I’m not even mad they exaggerated the hate they started to feel for each other… No, actually I am mad about it because I don’t know what’s funny about them wanting to kill each other (literally and I’m not making it up). It’s also a little disgusting and intellectually undemanding to be honest. Like I knew what I was getting myself into but then I watched this and felt like… There’s no way these people would have been married in real life with how they hated each other. Because not even in the beginning when she ditched her first fiance (whom we never saw) did it seem like they really cared/loved each other. Just make it seem like they had a relationship and cared for one another before that. Give us a reason why they wanted to stay together for the rest of their lives. And the message of this story is also kind of mixed but I’ll get to that in a moment. And then they both lose their memories due to an accident which might be cliché but I was hoping for something with a little depth while still using some comedic relief. But instead of growing as people or as a couple it was just a bunch of awkwardness, meddling families and physical aspects. How it ended must be one of the most stupid endings I’ve ever seen in K-Drama history. Yes, give them their cliché of the male lead running after her to the airport scene but ha ha ha, wait. Mess it up by having the male lead giving a monologue, talking about his deep feelings, just for the female lead to wear earphones and not hearing a single word he said. I’m sorry, but you can’t tell me if a person you are supposed to love follows you to the airport you’d let your earphones in instead of listening to what the person has to say. That’s not funny but sad and stupid at the same time. And that’s what’s wrong with this movie. No, they don’t work on more open communication. No, they don’t try to accept each other with their flaws while actively working on themselves and their marriage. This is not a romance story. It’s a lovers-to-enemy trope until the very end. With nothing good to take away from it (except for the fact they got amazing actors for this).

Characters 3/10
Something else that’s insufferable. None of these characters (!) None (!) Has any redeeming quality whatsoever. I get that nobody is perfect. But the female lead is outright crazy and the male lead is rather useless (and I hate to use this word because I think no person really is. But seems like you can write them this way). Also both of them are horrible spouses. And yes, that’s the entire purpose of the movie but you don’t see any character development, no growth, nothing. The only aspect that changes throughout the movie is their memory loss but the writer doesn’t do anything with it but decides to limit marriage to physical components instead. Wow. I personally feel like the actors had a good natural chemistry but it was completely destroyed by the way their characters were written. They were toxic at the start and toxic at the end. On top of that they hinted at both of them cheating on each other but then never brought it up again like this is nothing. Honestly, I think they should stick with their divorce if they both don’t value their relationship more. Also maybe the scene at the end was a reflection of the first scene when he promised to come for her next time and that’s what they did but if they wanted to do a call-back to it they should have done a better job. I don’t like any of the characters. I love the actors but it’s rare to find so awfully written characters.

Overall/Enjoyment 5/10
Actually I think 5 is too generous for this movie but the acting was good and also the humor was decent for most of the time. Especially from some of the side characters. Given what they had to work with they did a good job. I normally love the Korean over the top humor but not if it’s mixed with this seemingly new trend to include jokes or lines that seem to be adapted from western shows/movies (like it seems to be the trend with some K-Dramas nowadays). I don’t get it… Korean shows and movies are so popular and great for a reason. I don’t know why they try to make it like a stereotypical American show or movie. The irony is that I feel like they tried to make something similar to the movie “Just Married” with Brittany Murphy and Ashton Kutcher which somehow worked better back in 2003 when it was released. But I kind of expected and hoped for something closer to the series “Go Back Couple” except it’s not a time travel but they lose their memories and start to fall in love with each other again while working on their issues. Together. If they would learn something along the way and learn from their mistakes to improve their marriage it could still have had some jokes and comedic relief in it while giving us something valuable. When I heard this movie would come out I was really excited. Maybe too much since I expected and hoped for more than we got. Personally I don’t get why this movie is already so popular and high-ranked when it’s nothing but disgrace to all the movies/shows that did a better job at portraying marriage isn’t always easy and you have to work hard to make it work. This just sends the opposite message as if it doesn’t matter. And even if many people will disagree with my statement I’ll stick with it that overall it’s bad movie. Not the worst I’ve ever watched but nothing compared to the usual Korean standards.

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WOW, Unexpectedly good and is the type of indie movie that would be making headlines

I get if some people wouldn’t like the hyper sexuality in the movie but it’s really a side part of the movie, the main part of the movie is it’s rich plot. It’s the kind of nostalgia and indie that is PERFECT. I love the themes presented in this movie like the internalized ageism and the belief that many people share of becoming useless once you are older. I also love the memories of a Kaoru’s past, it’s reminiscent of the Marauders in Harry Potter, like the idea of this iconic and fun groups of friends in a coming of age way is sooooo good. Honestly I want this movie to be adapted for global viewership because it would be winning awards left and right. WATCH THIS MOVIE

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A FEAST

A feast for my eyes, a 5-course meal, a visual experience. The acting, the sets, hair and make-up, the costumes, the colors/atmosphere, the characters, the fight scenes, the cinematography, the music, the CGI!!!!! Everything was visually SO pleasing. What a stunner! I saw this was made by the same director as “My Journey to You”, so I expected greatness, and I got greatness. If censorship wasn’t real, they would have kissed by the way. Also, Shou Ye served massive cunt as a snake, I’m sorry, it had to be said. Now, if only Deng Lun had paid his taxes… We will never see the sequel😭 I need this visual feast again…!!!!

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it’s a masterpiece not a regular movie

No matter how many times a person rewatches this masterpiece they will cry, I watched it a million times and I still cry, the feelings and the actors who made this even more beautiful, words can never explain the how beautiful this masterpiece is. I felt many feelings not only laughed and cried. The actors are good, they portrayed the characters so well, the story was also good, but what annoyed me the most was the police, they didn’t even bother to investigate, like Yong yu already seemed to have an illness. I will definitely rewatch this movie, or should I call it a masterpiece

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The story revolves around a girl who lost her family due a tsunami. And even after like 10 years, she still hasn't gotten over it. And that's clearly evident from the girl's mannerism. The cast for the girl was right on spot for this particular role, her natural look+ make-up+ acting totally brought out the misery she was in throughout the story. Since the girl was in her teens, we get to see a kinda rebellious phase of her life, as she ran away from her aunt's home in hopes to visit her original home. Throughput this journey she ends up meeting several people who share the same misery as hers, losing their loved ones due the tsunami or some related cause. Everyone of them tells their story to her, but she never really returns any meaningful response. She goes on aimlessly and puts herself in pretty dangerous scenarios but somehow strives though with the help of some kind people.

But that's pretty much it. The story literally just covers the sorrow of this girl and the people she meets along the way, kinda portraying how even with all that sorrow and misery they are still striving on and persevering for a hopefully better tomorrow.

Towards the end, when the girl eventually gets to visit her original home she does express her sorrow and kinda emotionally breaks down as expected but somehow it doesn't feel as emotionally moving, maybe that's because the girl expresses so less throughout the movie that we literally never get to know much about the character apart from her sorrowful side.

The actual wind phone is mentioned at the very last part of the movie and actually been shown for like 5-10 mins, even though the movie is literally called 'The Wind Phone'. So that didn't particularly make sense to me.

Overall the movie does feel pretty sorrowful yet empty, going over the themes of loss and perseverance yet never fully committing to expressing something truly valuable and unique to the viewer.

The cinematography was okay-ish. The music not so good. The screenplay was weak. Perhaps, the acting was the only strong point of the movie. Clearly the execution didn't quite catchup with the imagination in this case, in my opinion.

Really not good enough for recommendation.

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Half-baked but the baked part is pretty good

The film is at its best when threading unusual vignettes through various Tokyo landscapes, such as when we follow an unstoppable multicolored guitarist, or when a slightly ridiculous cosplayer suddenly jumps from a rooftop, inexplicably surviving only to flee on his moped just as white as his costume.
These scenes, though fun enough and appropriately tied in with the main plot, just don't mesh sufficiently well. Two films seem to be fighting for the right to exist here, a limp absurdist comedy and a hastily spliced family drama.
The patchwork approach is viable, but the absurd intensity should have been pushed far beyond what is presented, and the dialogue crafted with greater flair.
The interludes with the dead wife's colleagues are entirely dispensable.

That said, nothing is mediocre, the actors play well, Tokyo is beautiful, and the group scenes in the final act are touching.

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comforting and depressing

“You missed me too much. So, it was your imagination.”

When grandpa called his wife Xiao Xiao… but his wife isn’t Xiao Xiao…

Grandpa’s letter… I almost made it through the whole movie without crying, but then the letter came… I’m very upset now.

This was beautiful yet heartbreaking and the actors played their characters so naturally and masterfully. Time moved so quickly while watching this movie, which means a lot in my book because I'm not a movie person at all. This felt comforting and depressing at the same time, and I liked how his game was represented in the present timeline. The scenes were in black and white because they didn't end up together. I guess the end becoming colorful meant they found peace in their breakup because their love for each other still persisted even if they aren't together? Whatever it is, this movie was beautiful, but I will NOT watch it again😭💗

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Realistic And Quietly Touching.

Spoiler only at end of review. A beautiful, somber yet hopeful film. Thoughtful, touching, and deeply resonating. Addresses multiple thoughts and internal struggles in a realistic way. I really appreciated how the film explored the relationship between a gay man and a heteroflexible man. The story shows how insecurities from past experiences, societal expectations, and different gender identities can influence someone to hold themselves back from happiness out of fears that are often warrented in the real world.

I found on YouTube (in The USA Jan 2024). In the comments I learned that the word written on the cigarette box means "forbidden". This is really helpful to know because it has a symbolic tie-in with the characters.

The physical intimacy was a little stilted but part of that could have been the editing. It ultimately didn't detract from the film.

The thing that frustrated me was how many wide-angle shots there were. Even though it was beautiful cinematography, it was emotionally distancing. Watching scenes from half a room away meant that I often couldn't see the actor's faces clearly (and sometimes not at all). I think the film could have been even more emotionally powerful had I been able to tune into the character's emotions playing across their faces as they talked and looked at each other. This did impact my satisfaction and my rating.

Otherwise, the cinematography and lightning is gorgeous and had a beautiful lonely feel to it that underscored the long-standing psychological state of the characters. The composition of frames and the contrast of light/dark and colors was masterful, especially in the longer still shots. The instrumental music was understated and complimented all the scenes well.

Side note: I also like Yuan's review on MDL.

SPOILER ON THE ENDING:

While the technicalities of how the two will proceed when they work in different cities is left up in the air, the reunion and reconciliation is successful. The ending is mostly satisfying. The end shot felt like an add for Marlboro cigarettes though, which wasn't to my taste (and it wasn't like that in the manga). Update: However, after learning that the translation of the word on the cigarette box is "forbidden", the ending tableau makes a lot more sense.

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