The End of Silence

The film is an excellent exercise in character study, but the characters, while interesting in and of themselves, become flat in a script that is too shallow to allow a mature development of the conflicts that result from the trials and tribulations of a foreigner trying to express herself in a land where she cannot speak the language, find a job, or even dance the ballet--her craft and passion. The camera experiments with darkly nuanced light and shadow and seldom allows the viewer a chance to see or feel any particular moment in space or time. These fleeting moments may actually reflect, intentionally, the film's theme, but the result is a loosely knitted sequence of film clips that result in a weakly developed plot instead of what could have been a much more powerful story.

At last, a wonderful Canadian film and one that is set in Toronto as Toronto rather than as a stand-in for Pittsburgh or some such! This is a warm, heart tugging, sad, lovable, delicate love story without the Hollywood cliché ending. Ekaterinna Chtchelkanova is so lovable and vulnerable that you just want to grab her and hold her in your arms.Even the inevitable "humping scene" is done with taste and style that captures the passion without offending the eyes. Toronto is shown in winter. If Hollywood had done this, Toronto would be New York and it would be June rather than December. There's a wonderful European art film feel to this movie, at times gritty, at times opulent. But it's also a distinctive Canadian story. The cinematography, done by the director, is brilliant and innovative. There are endless artistic and original shots. But none of them are trite or gimmicky or out of place. They're visual poetry, genius behind the camera as well as in front of it and the icing on an already very tasty cake. It's a keeper!

This film is one of the best I've seen all year - of all genres and budgets. Forget about the fact that it's an independent Canadian feature. I'm typically a harsh critic but I felt all aspects of this film were brilliant.

It's based on a beautiful story, the acting was nearly perfect and I for one liked the documentarian feel to the camera-work. The only catch for me is that I like the working title better than the title used for the release.

Anita Doran has proved that budget isn't an issue if you have passion and skill as a filmmaker.

Congratulations Anita, and to your cast and crew as well, for creating such a beautiful film.