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Movie Name: Silenced
Year of Release: 2011
Language: Korean
Directed By: Dong-hyuk Hwang
Starring: Yoo Gong, Yu-mi Jung, Hyeon-soo Kim
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Plot: Kang in-ho is newly appointed as an art teacher at a school located at Mujin for hearing impaired children. The principal (played by Jang Gwang) is initially glad to have Kang on board as one of the teachers because he was recommended by his high school friend Professor Kim. However, he is taken aback on being asked to give a large amount of money as "school development fund" by the school director, who was also the twin brother of the principal. His mother somehow manages to gather the money by taking out the deposit money of their home. When he takes his first art class, he notices that the children were not very receptive to his teaching - they seemed rather scared of this newcomer. He also observed one of the boys being brutally beaten by Park, apparently because the boy had gone out at night and Park had become very worried about him. He also gets to hear some screaming sounds echoing through the corridor from the female washroom at night. He realises that something was not right, and he decides to get to the bottom of the issue bothering the students.
One day, while on his way back to home, he notices one of his students Yoo-Ri sitting on the ledge of a window. He rushes to her room and she leads him to a room, in which he observes the superintendent brutally punishing a female student Yeon-doo. He rushes Yeon-doo to the hospital and also calls up a Human Rights Activist See yoo-jin he met while on his way to the school. She tells Kang that Yeon was subjected to sexual harassment at school. Enraged at the horrific act, he decides to tape Yeon's account of what had happened to her to expose the culprits behind such brutal and unthinkable acts. Following suit, Yoo-Ri and Min-Su also reveal on tape the crimes that were committed against them by the teachers.
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Kang and See release the tape containing the testimonies of the students for public broadcast, because they realise the police was paid fat bribes to look the other way. Finally on public pressure the case is dragged to court, with Yoo-Ri and Yeon-doo testifying against the principal. However, Min-Su was unable to testify because his grandmother was forced to accept a fat sum of money as settlement. Kang loses his job and is under pressure from his mother to care for his own ailing daughter, but he continues to fight for the children. Eventually, the three accused professors are given only a light sentence of 6 months imprisonment. Furious at the verdict, Min-Su stabs Park and both of them are run over by a train.
Analysis: Based on true events that occured at Gwangju Inhwa School and adapted from the controversial novel 'The Crucible' by Gong-ji Young, the movie does not hold back to create a lasting impact on the viewer. In fact, I was stunned that the director included explicit scenes of sexual crimes committed against children, perhaps to make the audience fill with rage against the culprits. At times it will be difficult for the viewers to hold back their tears, with the grim ending leaving a permanent impression on the viewer's mind about the sorry state of affairs of the victims. Gong Yoo gives a good enough, if not an excellent performance, though at times the child actors tend to outshine him. All in all, a good movie to watch, but brace yourselves for the tough scenes - I am sure they will be difficult to stomach even for the toughest of viewers out there.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
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