In Pursuit of Silence

This movie was a bit all over the place, though I did enjoy many of the segments. They all do relate to silence in some way, though it's by various definitions of the word, and at times it is more about its opposite (noise) than silence itself. I am not saying that these do not fit together as a valid exploration of the term, but the movie feels a bit sprawling, going from one to the other.

On a deeper level, the movie does succeed, though. I left the screening with a clear awareness of the noise around me, and for the first time in quite a while, I actively listened to my every day environment. But then I tried remembering the different segments in the movie, but they were almost all forgotten. Perhaps a ten minute piece would have had just as strong an influence on me, but then again, perhaps the whole package was needed to underline the message of the movie.

Amazing artistic movie, perfect balance of beautiful visuals and even more beautiful and beatific theme: silence. Must watch. it has lot of zen moments which as a viewer i felt transcended to another plane. a rare experience.

Some people who've never considered the topic could be helped by watching this. Others will find familiar material, but it was well-done.

I'd have liked it to be more of an activist film, rather than a resigned documentation, but I guess that's the way it is.

I was surprised that they only showed a very brief clip of one of the biggest, growing threats to rural silence and visual aesthetics (hint: IWT). Was that political-correctness or an oversight?

The syntax does the semantic of this film justice. With eroding attention spans, the ability to appreciate a movie like this must also be diminishing. As a long time seeker of silence in the outdoors, it is remarkable how accurately this piece of art tells the story.

A meditation on silence as a commodity vanishing from the modern world and a pondered appeal to recover it while we still can. It is a bit all over the place, as other reviewers have noted, but I see this more as a quality. The film does not restrict itself to a linear argument, but rather tracks silence and noise as foundations of our existence and being. The recurring motif is John Cage's 4'33, which serves as a benchmark for the many issues raised. The film's greatest strength, by far, is its mindful use of sound design as an element of cinematic experience. Throughout, the audience is made to 'see' sound purposefully, like in a piece of sound art, and thus to challenge the way we take noise for granted in our daily lives. Ironically, the biggest flaw, for me, was the musical soundtrack, which encroached on moments that could have more profitably been given over to silence. Highly recommend this film to anyone interested in re-thinking the many things wrong with the way we live in the age of social networking. That's pretty much everyone, really.