Das schweigsame Mädchen

Right, well the synopsis for this 1995 Japanese drama sounded interesting enough to make me pick up the movie and give it a view. I had actually never heard about "The Girl of Silence" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here late in 2022.

Writers Goro Haiki didn't exactly manage to churn out a storyline and script that was overwhelmingly interesting. Sure, the movie was watchable, but it was a slow paced ordeal, and nothing much of anything overly interesting happened during the 90 minutes that the movie ran for. I am not familiar with Shungiku Uchida's novel, so I don't know how true the movie is to the source material.

The acting performances in the movie were fair enough, though I have to admit that there wasn't much appeal in the character gallery, as most of the characters felt like shallow marionettes without much of any in-depth backstory, motivation or drive.

While I did manage to sit through "The Girl of Silence", I have to admit that I wasn't particularly entertained by director Genjiro Arato's 1995 movie.

My rating of "The Girl of Silence" lands on a generous three out of ten stars, because the movie had lots of potential, but was essentially a rather restricted movie experience. Director Genjiro Arato didn't even tap into half of what the movie could have turned out to be.

A fourteen-year old girl is sexually abused by her father - but in response to this, she builds up a newfound resilience. Some day, her internal dramas would give her the resources to emerge victorious from abuse. THE GIRL OF SILENCE is a plaintive but affecting drama, based on the manga, "Father Fu----", that's easily enough to grab your attention. The film itself describes the central character's efforts to rise above her situation and achieve success in the unforgiving world of manga.

(Interestingly, the manga "Father Fu----" - while raw and borderline-exploitative - is compelling and funny in its own way.)

The narrative is grim and seemingly hopeless. The girl attempts to transcend her family situation, which is marred by incest, violence, alcoholism, and a realization that she has no way out. The movie does a good job fleshing out the story using the language of manga, but the basic material could be more inventive. Instead of relying on a "happy" ending, it would be have been far more interesting to see how the characters resolve their problems.