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At first, I almost turned it off. The film opens with scenes of human waste collection, and I was eating dinner. The smell seemed to seep through the screen, and I thought, "Why am I watching this?"

But I kept going. And I'm so glad I did.

'Sekai no Okiku' is not just a story about a man who collects excrement. It's about how society treats those who deal with what it wants to forget. It's about shame, class, and what it means to live in a body that others recoil from, because you can't wash away the stench.

The film is quiet and poetic, with black-and-white cinematography that feels almost sacred. It reminded me of Wim Wenders' Perfect Days in its reverence for the quiet beauty of repetitive labor. Both films elevate toilet cleaning into something contemplative and almost transcendental. But what struck me most was the love story. A woman who sees the man behind the stench, behind the role.

This is not a movie for everyone. It demands patience. It confronts the viewer. But if you let it, it will give you something very rare: a deep, compassionate look at the parts of humanity we usually flush away.

"The Silent Hour," starring Joel Kinnaman, is a tense thriller that showcases Kinnaman's fantastic acting abilities. He delivers a compelling performance that keeps you engaged throughout. The other lead actor, Sandra Mae Frank, who is deaf in real life, also shines with an authentic performance, adding depth to the film. And Mark Strong delivers his characteristic quality, as usual. The script follows a familiar but satisfying formula, with a twist: the good guys are deaf.

The film keeps you on the edge of your seat while also exploring some poignant scenes: how it feels to lose one's hearing, how the world sounds afterward, and the challenges with hearing aids, like struggling to process multiple sounds at once. These are some of the film's many realistic touches.

The acting and chemistry between Kinnaman and Frank is exceptional, adding emotional weight to their scenes, and some scenes moved me to tears. Their discussions on acceptance and how life continues despite change are deeply touching. "Everything has changed," Kinnaman says. "No, not everything. One thing has changed," Frank replies.

Showing action stars like Kinnaman as heroes with disabilities is important, as is including a deaf female lead. It normalizes different human abilities, showing these characters as just variations of what it means to be human.

This is the second film in two years where Kinnaman plays a disabled hero (both with "Silent" in the title). Now I hope he completes the "Silent trilogy" by playing a blind character next!