Voice of Silence (2020 film)

Voice of Silence (Korean: 소리도 없이; RR: Sorido Eopsi; lit. "Without A Sound") 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. It was released in South Korea on October 15, 2020.
Plot.
Tae-in, a young man who never speaks, and Chang-bok, a religious old man, work as the clean-up crew for a crime organization. One day, they receive an order from their immediate superior to take care of an eleven-year-old kidnapped girl Cho-hee for two days. The responsibility to take care of the girl falls upon the mute Tae-in who lives in the outback with a sister of a younger age than Cho-hee. The superior who does the activities behind the kingpin's back gets killed for it, and the duo does not know what to do with the girl.
Production.
Development.
In 2016, it was revealed that director Hong Eui-jeong and BAFTA winning producer, Afolabi Kuti of Broedmachine, planned to collaborate on producing Hong's screenplay. The screenplay had been selected as one of the top 12 projects at Venice Biennale Collage-Cinema 2016/2017 and shortlisted for Sundance Screenwriters Lab (working title "Without A Trace"). In 2019, Lewis Pictures and Broccoli Pictures joined the production with Acemaker Movieworks distributing the film.
Casting.
On June 3, 2019, Yoo Ah-in and Yoo Jae-myung joined the cast of the film, followed by two child actors, Moon Seung-ah and Lee Ga-eun, who joined the cast through auditions.
Filming.
The read-through of the script occurred on July 19, 2019. Principal photography began on July 29, 2019. Filming took place in Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do and lasted less than two months on September 12, 2019.
Release.
"Voice of Silence" was released in local cinemas on October 15, 2020. It was previously screened at the Cannes International Film Festival's virtual market Marché du Film in June 2020. It was screened at the Glasgow Film Festival as part of the "Country Focus ― South Korea" program in March 2021. The film was also released in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, and The Philippines.
Reception.
Box office.
On its opening day in South Korea, "Voice of Silence" accumulated nearly 16,000 viewers, taking 31.1% of the box office and also taking the first place from "Pawn" at the box office. During the first weekend of its release, "Voice of Silence" garnered 220,395 viewers, securing the first place at the box office for its first weekend. "Voice of Silence" became the highest indie film opening after the outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea. It has since clocked up 403,424 admissions in its home country.
Critical response.
On Korean review aggregator "Naver Movie Database", the film holds an approval rating of 7.94 from critic reviews.
Rouven Linnarz from "Asian Movie Pulse" called it "a fascinating and quite gripping blend of drama and thriller", and wrote, "Hong Eui-jeong has created an ambitious piece of work, whose cast and aesthetics are just two aspects within a story that offers a rich, but also grim social subtext". Andrew Murray from "The Upcoming" wrote that the film was "fantastically mean-spirited when it comes to its humour [...] leading to amusing misunderstandings and shocking surprises. The result is a constantly twisting plot that will keep viewers gripped from beginning to end." Tyler Colosimo from "The Movie Beat" wrote, "Hong Eui-jeong's "Voice of Silence" brings a fresh behind-the-scenes perspective to the crime genre that explores the often unheard and unseen side of criminality. With excellent performances and intriguing drama told through a finely crafted veil of black comedy, "Voice of Silence" stands out as one of the best Korean films of the year".