Even a year like 2020, which has, by all means, been quite tumultuous with regard to cinema or culture in general, has a few success stories to offer when it comes to film. “Voice of Silence”, the feature debut by Korean director Hong Eui-jeong, managed to create quite some buzz in her home country as it gained acclaim by audiences and critics alike. What makes the success so noteworthy is not just the circumstances, but also the blend of genres, in a mixture of thriller and family drama. At the same time, it tells a story of those members of society that are forgotten or made speechless, much like one of the main characters.
“Voice of Silence” is screening at Project K – Korean Film Festival Frankfurt
For many years, Chang-bok (Yoo Jae-myeong) and his taciturn colleague Tae-in (Yoo Ah-in) have been employed by various gangs and mafia clans to clean up after potential crime scenes, getting rid of the bodies as well as the blood stains. Since they have proven reliable and efficient, one of their clients gives them an unusual mission which is to pick up a kidnap victim, an eleven-year-old-girl, and take care of her for 24 hours. However, as the men pick up Choo-hee (Moon Seung-ah), she turns out much younger than described, and, to make matters worse, her parents seem to be unwilling to come up with the ransom.
What was supposed to be for only 24 hours, eventually turns out to be a much more serious affair, especially when their client is murdered by the competition and the two men have to deal with the girl on their own. Whereas Chang-bok wants the situation to be solved as soon as possible, planning to give the girl to professional kidnappers, Tae-in seems hesitant, since he has grown quite fond of the girl's company.
One of the core aspects of Hong Eui-jeong's script is how it establishes a certain dynamic between its characters, closely connected to the theme of being invisible or, in the case of Tae-in, speechless. While Chang-bok seems to be a mentor-like figure for his colleague, giving advice and telling him how to behave in both worlds, the normal one and the criminal underworld, Tae-in is content to follow orders, whereas the rest of his life is a mess, much like the chaos which is his home. As we follow the story, we recognize the way Hong has implemented this mentality within a much greater context, presenting Tae-in as a member of a group unrecognized or invisible to the majority, without a voice in more than one way.
In general, Hong's feature presents some kind of intermediate sphere of society. Given their line of work, the two male protagonists are parts of the edges of society, but also represent the lowest step in the hierarchy of the underworld. Similar to Tae-in's home, a ramshackle hut hidden behind great bushes, their lives are forgotten in the eyes of the world while their most important credo is to remain that way. To try and stay unnoticed and always be thankful are just two of the suggestions Chang-bok tells his younger colleague, which feels more like a code for both of the worlds they are part of in a way.
This concept is linked to the view of society shown in “Voice of Silence” which assigns value to people and follows a rigid hierarchy. It is a system in which money, value and profit define what makes a human being, like in the case of Cho-hee, whose parents think it fit to haggle for the ransom, resulting in her daughter stating it seems like her little brother is now quite enough for them, and she has become superfluous. Although it is the opposite on paper, the criminal underworld mirrors this image, perhaps much less subtly, considering many dialogues deal with topics like kidnapping, ransom and how much money a human being could make on the “market”.
Despite its grim views and themes, it is astounding how bright the world of “Voice of Silence” seems to be on the outside. Park Jung-hoon's cinematography presents beautiful rural landscapes and bright colors, a contrast to some of the events shown in the film, but perhaps also an emphasis of how normal some of these have become for the characters, and how beauty and darkness go hand in hand in this story.
“Voice of Silence” is a fascinating and quite gripping blend of drama and thriller. 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.
