The winner of the Michael Dwyer Discovery Award at JDIFF 2012, Silence stars writer Eoghan MacGiolla Bride as a sound recordist who returns to Ireland after a 15-year stint in Berlin. Upon telling his girlfriend his decision, she asks why. But his explanation is drowned out by background noise: the traffic, airplanes above, other people talking. Because the whys doesn’t matter, only the is.
This is the thesis of Silence. That through meaningless words and inescapable background noise, we are slowly drowning out any real meaning or connection with ourselves, each other, our surroundings and our history. And so Eoghan travels through Ireland to stunning lakes, tranquil mountains, lush forests and idyllic rural escapes trying to find – and capture – pure silence. While on his journey, he interacts with local men, who speak of their ancestry, their culture and history, their experience of Ireland and their hopes for the future. Archive footage of Ireland in the ‘20s and ‘30s punctuate the soft, slow-burning narrative, showing the stories and voices that echo more and more quietly throughout the modern world, in danger of being silenced and forgotten forever.
Director Pat Collins evokes a subtler Terrence Malick in both style and symbolism, with his stunning shots of the gorgeous Irish landscape and Mac Giolla Bride’s pensive, pain-filled face hinting at unspoken history and loss on both micro and macro levels. Keeping Eoghan’s background and personal motivations a mystery, his long, quiet (though never silent) shots allow the viewer to put their own interpretation and experience onto this enigmatically painted portrait of Eoghan’s quest for meaning, peace and understanding.
Though the semi-faux-documentary presentation detracts from the power of the narrative – at best raising questions about authenticity and at worst resembling pretentious posturing – Silence proves an intriguing and thought-provoking film for those searching for solace and stillness.