A SILENT VOICE: THE MOVIE (Theatrical Release Japan 2016)

 Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.0|5.0 Starsìììì

A Silent Voice: The Movie—animated film—dramatizes its story to the point of turning it into a soap opera for teens. This hampers its ability to tenderize the subject matter, to touch the heart at a deeper level, to plumb the depths/facets of a tough situation, and all of this makes it run just at the edge of boredom at times. The animated characters portray the story well and the voices are well chosen. Too many questions are left unanswered, not enough why questions are asked or answered…why does the one girl dislike the deaf girl for the duration of their personal interaction (which spans years). Some characters are dropped into the story without enough transition to really appreciate their significance. This seems to create an uneven flow in the overall movie because the audience is left behind a bit while trying to understand how the new character fits into the already existing storyline.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

A young deaf girl becomes the object of bullying.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Naoko Yamada for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Hideaki Hatta, Susumu Okinaka, Osamu Yoshiba for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Shôya Ishida (Voice of Miyu Irino), Shoko Nishimiya (Voice of Saori Hayami), Yuzuru Nishimiya (Voice of Aoi Yûki), Tomohiro Nagatsuka (Voice of Kensho Onô), Naoko Ueno (Voice of Yûki Kaneko), Miyoko Sahara (Voice of Yui Ishikawa), Miki Kawai (Voice of Megumi Han), Satoshi Mashiba (Voice of Toshiyuki Toyonaga), Young Shoya Ishida (Voice of Mayu Matsuoka), Young Kazuki Shimada (Voice of Sachiko Kojima), Young Keisuke Hirose (Voice of Hana Takeda), Takeuchi-sensei (Voice of Fuminori Komatsu), Ito Nishimiya (Voice of Ikuko Tani), Maria Ishida (Voice of Erena Kamata), and Shoya’s sister (Voice of Ayano Hamaguchi).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. The animation is soft, easy on the eyes, and the concept of the story is great. It addresses bullying and its sad consequences as well as the necessity of a hero to stand up and stop a bad situation from getting worse.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers