Bao lie wu sheng

For the last couple of months, I have been thrilled and admire how powerful the silence (usage of less dialogues) and sounds can be in today's films. They say that - Actions Speak Louder Than Words. For example, "the Tribe" Ukrainian powerful drama about deaf teenagers, or "All is Lost" intense 105minutes by Robert Redford who tries to stay alive. Or even recent hit "a quiet place" where a family forced to communicate through sign language in order to survive. In all these films audience could feel the dialogues by beautiful performances by main characters. The Chinese "Wrath of Silence" had similar effect on me.

To be honest I was surprisingly interested in the Chinese "Wrath of Silence", for me watching foreign films sometimes can be challenging, following the film and subtitles sometimes can be annoying. but after watching the half of the Xin Yukun's "Wrath of Silence" I found myself locked in it.

The "Wrath of Silence" is very well-executed thriller that gets more interesting as it goes. As an audience we all can feel for the main protagonist who is looking for his son. This unfortunate and hopeless quest is supported by powerful moments, bone-crunching action and dark humor. "Wrath of Silence" also have great storytelling, sound effects and beautifully crafted cinematography. Each shot worth thinking and analyzing twice.

The only flaws for me was the pace of the first half. I believe it was too slow and very long, and ending could be a little better, more artistic and more meaningful rather than just having kid drawing what happened. I wish we could see him drawing before a little by little and trying to tell what happened instead he was just creepy wearing the mask.

Metaphors for different social strata are in place. The whole movie has a good control over suspense. The script is really good. The mystery is pulled away layer by layer until the last moment. The shortcomings are also obvious, too many indifferent lenses weaken the main line; the lawyer's performance is too superficial, 80% of the scenes are wooden face.

There are just too many plot holes, and the screenplay simply lacks any sense of credibility. The first half of the film is unbearably slow and long. The production design is ridiculous. Clearly, the writer-director does not know how to make a decent thriller.

The story is basically about a dumb man who seeks his missing son at all costs based on an inner faith. In the course of this search, he ends up facing a powerful owner of a mining corporation. I did not really like this movie. There is some lack of logic in some parts. At one point, I had to turn on the Quick Play mode to speed up its end. It's a bit slow and tiring. If someone asks me whether I recommend it or not my answer is NO. I do not recommend this movie.

Cinematography was outstanding, acting on point, but the writing was terrible. I like the message this film was telling, but there were too many long, dragged out and unnecessary scenes. What was even the need for the father to play a mute? The butcher losing an eye? That entire cave scene lacked any reasoning or logic. Etc. There were too many convoluted plot and technical issues This film needed much cutting/trimming and editing. All the fluff and slow pacing, made the 120 min runtime feel like over 3 hours. The fight choreography was also underwhelming and unrealistic. Maybe some martial arts experience for the father may have made it somewhat realistic, as he showed zero fighting skills, especially against an entire office. It's a 5/10 from me