Blu-ray Review: Excellent Release for Baran bo Odar’s ‘The Silence’

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CHICAGO – Reminiscent of “The Vanishing” and “Memories of Murder,” Baran bo Odar’s “The Silence” is one of the most acclaimed international thrillers of the year. This excellent work focuses more on the people wrapped up in grief and sin than the mystery itself, and heralds the arrival of a great new talent. What I love so much about the Music Box Films Blu-ray release of the film is the way it highlights the talent of the man who made it, including two short films he produced before this full-length debut in their entirety.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Not only is it a GREAT film on its own (running nearly an hour), what’s so interesting about watching “Unter der Sonne” (which is about the ’80s summer in which a poor kid fell in lust with his cousin) in relation to “The Silence” is the visual commonalities the two films share. As a girl rides a bike down a rocky path with a glaring sun above here, it feels like “The Silence.” I’ve always been fascinated by directors who put their fingerprints on their work, weaving similar themes and visual strengths from film to film. It appears Baran bo Odar could be the next international auteur. “The Silence” is strong enough to suggest that on its own and this Blu-ray only confirms the suspicion.

My 4-star full-length review of “The Silence”.

The Silence was released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 23, 2013
Photo credit: Music Box Films

Synopsis:
A young girl is brutally murdered in a wheat field on a hot summer day in 1986. The killer is never found. 23 years later, a 13-year-old girl disappears in similar circumstances, leading the police to suspect the same killer may be at work. As the retired investigator of the earlier case joins a widowed young detective to delve into the mystery of the parallel crimes, the parents of the missing girl, the mother of the original victim, and an accomplice to the 1986 killing all have their worlds begin to crumble as they are drawn deeper into a web of guilt, despair and uncertainty.

Luminously shot and commandingly directed by Baran bo Odar, The Silence is a startling, cinematic and utterly mesmerizing thriller.

Special Features:
o Two Bonus Films By Baran Bo Odar: Quietsch and Under The Sun
o Interviews With The Cast And Crew
o Theatrical Trailer

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com