O Silêncio do Céu

Here's what you should know: this movie is one of the tough ones. And I mean that in the best way possible. It ended and I couldn't move. That's how hard it hit me. Couldn't move through the end credits, and even several minutes after. All that silence. That was powerful. Simple, and powerful. That, actually, may be the perfect way to describe the whole film. Then all I could think about was that I needed to write a review for this one, doing my part and letting people know they should watch it.

Also, if I can give you a little tip: watch it alone. Allow yourself to feel this one.

Very good movie that reminds you of the best work of Claude Chabrol (not that there is any intention to imitate Chabrol). The violence that starts the action has a hard edge at the beginning, then its contours become more ambiguous; as in real life, facts may be seen in more than one way, and their interpretation depends on one's previous knowledge, that changes with time. The unintended horrors of vengeance are clearly shown.

Brazilian director Marco Dutra does an excellent job, and action moves forward smoothly. In my opinion, the movie dwells a little too much (and a little unconvincingly) on the main character's psychology, which may reflect the usual problems of translating a novel (by Argentinian Sergio Bizzio, who also wrote the script) into a screenplay.

Excellent work by Argentinian Leonardo Sbaraglia and Brazilian Carolina Dieckmann, the rest of the cast at the same level. The movie is an Argentinian-Brazilian coproduction and the scenario is Montevideo. halfway between the two countries. The title The Silence of the Sky is an exact translation of the Portuguese original; in Argentina the movie was titled "Era el Cielo" (it was the sky). Perhaps a little is lost in translation here since the Portuguese "céu" and the Spanish "cielo" both mean "sky" but also mean "heaven."

You can catch another excellent movie by Dutra, Hard Labor (2011) in the rental services. There are several movies based on Bizzio's writing or scripted by him, among them "Un Amor" (2011) directed by Paula Hernández and "XXY" (2007) directed by Lucía Puenzo.

This starts off horrible. And I mean that in a way that if you are sensible you should have issues with the beginning of the movie. The violence depicted is devastating. It hurts just watching, your fists may clench and any decent human being will be at least sad and angry at the same time.

As if that wasn't enough, the same attack will be displayed a couple of minutes later from a different perspective. Which can be considered a neat trick to make the viewer relive this horrid experience. As if we were the victim, who are traumatized and have different ways of dealing with the incident. The woman here prefers silence, and it's a testament to her acting not speaking about things but conveying with her facial expression. She does not phone it in or is over the top.

The acting is top notch and the drama that ensues, while both husband and wife know what happened but do not communicate about it (for different reasons). It is not an entertainment watch, but it is really good. If you survive the first minutes which really are uncomfortable to put it mildly ...

This is a good movie. But it's the kind of movie you feel pity for, because it could have been a little masterpecie if it had a better direction and a better acting. Sbaraglia does a great job, but Carolina Dieckmann doesn't bring the complexity of her character and Chino Darín's role looks a bit stereotypical. Actually, the Uruguayan actress Mirella Paschoal, even in a much smaller role, has a much better performance than Dieckmann's.

Despite its flaws, The silence of the sky is a rather enjoyable film and keeps you connected to the story from beginning to the end.

Loved the background story telling and how the story revolves. Leonardo Sbaragila at his best.