Voice of Silence (2020) – Korean Movie Review

Voice of Silence (2020)
소리도 없이

Directed by: Hong Eui-jeong (홍의정)
Starring: Yoo Ah-in (유아인), Yoo Jae-myung (유재명), Moon Seung-ah (문승아)
Release Date: October 15th, 2020

Review

Korean cinema has become home for some of the most original and entertaining crime films of the past decade or more with their operatic gangster productions like New World (2013) or Gangnam Blues (2015). The stories tend to put a cool spin on the otherwise cruel and illegal behavior of criminals who appear suave yet frightening forceful. 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.

Tae-in (Yoo Ah-in) has lived his whole life very poor in the countryside. Unable to speak, he relies heavily on his partner Chang-bok (Yoo Jae-myung) whom together work diligently as subcontractors for a criminal organization where they clean-up the and dispose of the bodies leftover by gangsters after having had their way with them.

One day, the young & hot-headed gang boss they work under orders them to kidnap and watch over a certain individual for 24 hours. Hesitant at first as the two men prefer to work only with deceased bodies, they decide to take up the contract after persistent requests. But when they arrive at their point of abduction, they are baffled and hesitant at the subject in front of them. They must take an 11 year-old girl named Cho-hee (Moon Seung-ah) while ransom with her parents is being negotiated. When their employer suddenly turns up as their next body to dispose of, the dealings with the young girl are left hanging and the two men find themselves in a pickle as to how to proceed.

The film’s title Voice of Silence partly refers to the mute character of Tae-in played by Yoo Ah-in (Veteran, The Throne) who doesn’t speak at all in the film. But even without any speaking lines, it felt like he spoke a great deal. This speaks to how good his acting was in Voice of Silence and it is now my favorite Yoo Ah-in performance next to Burning (2018) and Punch (2011). Tae-in comes across as a kind of man-child due to his poor upbringing and inability to express himself vocally. But like his partner Chang-bok, played masterfully by Yoo Jae-myung (Bring Me Home), he’s a big teddy bear with a good heart. This creates conflicting feelings within the viewer as the characters become difficult to dislike despite their criminal roles.

Yoo Jae-myung does all of the talking for the duo and he is so entertaining to watch. He has this charismatic charm to him as he nonchalantly disposes of bloodied bodies like it was Tuesday while politely thanking his employers for trusting in him and his partner. So with these “good guy” character traits, the relationship that eventually ensues between the two men and the abducted child Cho-hee becomes sweet and outrageous at the same time. Due to the circumstances of being a kidnapping, it’s an odd state of affairs to say the least.

There were a few odd aspects about the kidnapped child character of Cho-hee too, but ultimately I think they scored a home run with Moon Seung-ah (Scattered Night) as their choice of young actress to play the part. As a character, a young girl like Cho-hee is very uncommon. She’s mild-mannered, confident and mostly unafraid of her dangerous predicament. She does show fear in several instances but she has an incredible natural coping ability that allows her to almost thrive in her new environment at least until things grow beyond her control. There are clues in the film as to why she might be this way, competition for attention and a feeling of self-worth at home against a more favored male sibling for example. In this way, the character Cho-hee speaks to the film’s title Voice of Silence as a symbol for lost children or for those largely ignored and who continue to fight for their voice to be heard.

And yet more oddly suited tonal choices (considering the circumstances of the story) that work surprisingly well, Voice of Silence portrays Cho-hee’s experiences while in captivity in a very melodramatic way. Perhaps partly suffering a bit of Stockholm syndrome and partly attributed to her ingenious coping mechanisms, she genuinely seems to accept her lot as she befriends Tae-in’s younger sister while in captivity. Acting like an older sister to her, together they enthusiastically clean up Tae-in’s house and do the laundry to try and please him. They become this bizarrely happy family amidst the criminal dealings that continue to be underway as the men work out what to do with her. Several moments of touching drama are created around the unusual bonds that are created here.

The broader stylistic and tonal aspects of Voice of Silence come off as rather refreshing among the crime films of today. So many of these criminal movies focus on the men in suits, almost glamourizing the lifestyle set against the ultra modernized and technologically developed backdrop of present day Korea. But Voice of Silence takes us out to the countryside for more rural environments and run-down laborers where we get some of the most visually pleasing outdoor photography since Little Forest (2018).

Voice of Silence also takes us behind-the-scenes of the criminal world and features the most unlikely of protagonists. What could be described as “criminal janitors,” these middle-men roles are portrayed to be hard-working blue collar people with the inability to see the difference between right and wrong. The film is darkly comic at times too, and it was especially amusing when the criminals use their polite ‘business voices’ full of high-level vocabulary and mannerisms as they negotiate with each other. These back channel dealings where disadvantaged individuals are manipulated a taken advantage of by criminals seems to be yet another angle of the film’s title Voice of Silence, or the direct Korean translation “Not Even a Sound.”

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