The Voice of the Voiceless (La voz de los silenciados) (2013)
Director: Maximon Monihan
First Seen: 10/20/2024
Rating: 9/10 Stars
A hidden gem! Always a pleasure to find one of these. A black and white silent film in this day and age is rare. But what is even more rare is a film in which a plot device or format that could easily have become gimmicky is instead used creatively and effectively. Monihan directs an impressive first time actress and several other little known supporting players in an affecting story that gives audiences an uncomfortable taste of the difficulties faced by the hard of hearing, immigrants, slaves, and victims of international crime organizations- or even all of the above, like the heroine of this story, Olga.
One might be tempted to say this is too much and implausible, but this film proves that the most interesting stories cannot be made up. This is based on real news events; a crime syndicate operation investigated and subsequently revealed by the New York Police Department. An international travesty, this was modern day slavery in which those with hearing deficiencies were lured to travel to "the land of opportunity" under false pretenses and trapped in a nightmare in which there was little chance for escape- given their disadvantages and lack of resources in a country where they knew nobody and had no easy way to communicate.
For the meticulous, this film is technically not completely black and white and is silent aside from the minor sound effects from inanimate items and the short scene where the penguin makes unintelligible sounds that supposedly represent his dialogue- conversation that is "translated" for the audience via subtitles. Everything else is frustratingly communicated by attempts at charades, frantic gestures, drawing, or writing. (Or physical abuse.) That is, in fact, the most blatant feature that many audience members will identify as a flaw. But if this film were not so disheartening and exasperating at times, it would fail to make its point- to let audiences experience the troublesome nature of being unable to hear, alone in a foreign country where one does not even speak the language, at the mercy of an international crime organization that uses physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, tasering, and other torture methods to keep their victims in line.
Without giving too much away, the surprise MVP here is not an actor or actress but a plush penguin toy that Olga finds one day and secretly communicates with. Like an imaginary friend, the penguin can obviously talk back and gives her all the encouragement and love that her family, an ocean away, cannot. Olga's struggle to survive, her resourceful plans to fight back, and her very real decision at the conclusion are a reflection of the harsh realities many disadvantaged individuals face on a daily basis. Yes, even in America.
**** Spoiler Alert! Spoilers Ahead! ****
The ending referred to above takes place a little suddenly, but it makes sense. Olga has been pushing through the trauma, day after day, doing her best, because that is sometimes all we can do as humans. One of her defense mechanisms comes in the form of the penguin, where her "safe" thoughts, probably coming from a place in her brain that belongs most closely to the girl she was and would be before and without the abuse and trauma she is currently enduring, are manifested. Thus, the penguin "tells" Olga instructions on how to get revenge on her abusers/captors/enslavers/prisoners and lovingly gives her additional tips like "look everywhere" and "make sure not to trip on the stairs". Alas, rather than become a murderer, which would not be fitting to the compassionate and incorrigible character she has shown us thus far, she takes her own life. Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but In some ways, we can be relieved for her. She is finally out of pain and has probably gone to a better place. Where in her dreams, at least, she can see her family and her penguin again!
