Written by: Kevin Berge
Hey, it's another opportunity to make clear that animated movies are not just for kids. Seriously, don't take your kids to this movie, until they are old enough to appreciate it. (Image Courtesy of: sgcafe.net)
Quick Take: A Silent Voice tells a beautiful story about growing up, making mistakes, and accepting one's role in tragedy with lively animation and a largely quiet story with bombastic moments of emotional highs. Combining communication with empathy, the movie captures the volatility of youth and the effects of depression and loneliness.
***This review will break down some of the fundamental elements of this film. This will include heavy spoilers. Those who have not seen it should be aware that it is an intense emotional experience that deals in dark themes, but it well worth seeing for anyone in the right mind to give it a chance.
Also, I would personally recommend watching the movie in Japanese rather than with the English dub. While the dub is well put together, this is a film about communication that gets confused in English. Please do not read past this point before seeing the movie if you plan to give it a chance.***
Bullying is an inevitability. We all know it's wrong, but kids rationalize the act anyway. I know because it took me over a decade to realize I spent much of my elementary school year being bullied. I was the typical "nerd", and my primary tormentor was in my social circle. I couldn't escape him because I didn't know how to say "no".
Others had it worse than I did, but it certainly affected me. I carry the lingering effects. Nowhere is it more clear than when I let slip a few self-deprecating comments. It has taken me a long time to accept who I am and appreciate what I can do especially since I just took my own moments of depression as normal.
That's why I loved A Silent Voice. It captures the spiraling effects of bullying with emotional flourish. Through its plot, it follows the initial rationalization through the wild and differing repercussions and finally the ability to reconcile, by finding a new emotional outlet.
This is a tough film to watch. It does not spare any emotion. It is aggravating, depressing, intense, confounding, heartbreaking, and luckily, by its end, joyful and uplifting. My first experience was hate in this movie as I immediately loathed Shoya Ishida for bullying Shoko Nishimiya.
It does not always get easier as Shoya is completely ostracized even by those who participated in the acts. Both Shoya and Shoko attempt to kill themselves over the course of this movie as an expression of their own depression and self-loathing, and it is hard to even process.
Also, I would personally recommend watching the movie in Japanese rather than with the English dub. While the dub is well put together, this is a film about communication that gets confused in English. Please do not read past this point before seeing the movie if you plan to give it a chance.***
Bullying is an inevitability. We all know it's wrong, but kids rationalize the act anyway. I know because it took me over a decade to realize I spent much of my elementary school year being bullied. I was the typical "nerd", and my primary tormentor was in my social circle. I couldn't escape him because I didn't know how to say "no".
Others had it worse than I did, but it certainly affected me. I carry the lingering effects. Nowhere is it more clear than when I let slip a few self-deprecating comments. It has taken me a long time to accept who I am and appreciate what I can do especially since I just took my own moments of depression as normal.
That's why I loved A Silent Voice. It captures the spiraling effects of bullying with emotional flourish. Through its plot, it follows the initial rationalization through the wild and differing repercussions and finally the ability to reconcile, by finding a new emotional outlet.
This is a tough film to watch. It does not spare any emotion. It is aggravating, depressing, intense, confounding, heartbreaking, and luckily, by its end, joyful and uplifting. My first experience was hate in this movie as I immediately loathed Shoya Ishida for bullying Shoko Nishimiya.
It does not always get easier as Shoya is completely ostracized even by those who participated in the acts. Both Shoya and Shoko attempt to kill themselves over the course of this movie as an expression of their own depression and self-loathing, and it is hard to even process.
I know that feel, bro. (Image Courtesy of: alltheanime.com)
Luckily, the firm hand of director Naoko Yamada (K-On!) makes it hard to look away at every moment. Despite passing the two hour mark which is a dangerous proposition with an animated film, there was not a dull moment to the film. It pushes its emotional roller coaster forward at all times, not even stopping to explain anything.
Lesser writing would have ruined this movie because it would have been easy to spend entire scenes with Shoya explaining his own changing emotions or Shoko raging at her own insecurities. Luckily, the film is comfortable in its own skin using character interactions to guide understanding of the characters.
It would have been easy to make many of the main cast unlikable. Luckily, the writing instead makes them complex. Shoya's mistakes drive him to introversion, and his single-minded devotion to helping Shoko pushes through his deep depression. Shoko puts on a smile not just for others but for herself, putting on an act to keep herself sane.
The other characters can be one note at times, but their journeys are just as satisfying to experience. Miyoko Sahara is forced to face the fact that her fears control her. Naoko Ueno must slowly accept Shoko for who she is rather than lashing out at her for her difference. Shoko's sister Yuzuru has to find a way to live her own life beyond Shoko.
There are moments here of hyperbolic emotion where the cast are overwhelmed in their own single-minded focus, but that feels intentional in portraying youth. Even by the end of the movie, these are still high schoolers, not adults, and they are still maturing and learning to accept that the world is larger than them.
The whole story is about youth, not a celebration but not simply a critique either. Everyone can be stupid at times, and they can make mistakes that will forever affect them. What has to be celebrated is their ability to stand back up and keep going after these mistakes.
I can't remember a single movie that made me cry as much as A Silent Voice. I cried when Shoya revealed he had learned sign language. I cried when Shoko's mother fell to her knees to beg for forgiveness from Shoya's mother. I was absolutely balling throughout Shoya and Shoko's reunion after the accident.
Lesser writing would have ruined this movie because it would have been easy to spend entire scenes with Shoya explaining his own changing emotions or Shoko raging at her own insecurities. Luckily, the film is comfortable in its own skin using character interactions to guide understanding of the characters.
It would have been easy to make many of the main cast unlikable. Luckily, the writing instead makes them complex. Shoya's mistakes drive him to introversion, and his single-minded devotion to helping Shoko pushes through his deep depression. Shoko puts on a smile not just for others but for herself, putting on an act to keep herself sane.
The other characters can be one note at times, but their journeys are just as satisfying to experience. Miyoko Sahara is forced to face the fact that her fears control her. Naoko Ueno must slowly accept Shoko for who she is rather than lashing out at her for her difference. Shoko's sister Yuzuru has to find a way to live her own life beyond Shoko.
There are moments here of hyperbolic emotion where the cast are overwhelmed in their own single-minded focus, but that feels intentional in portraying youth. Even by the end of the movie, these are still high schoolers, not adults, and they are still maturing and learning to accept that the world is larger than them.
The whole story is about youth, not a celebration but not simply a critique either. Everyone can be stupid at times, and they can make mistakes that will forever affect them. What has to be celebrated is their ability to stand back up and keep going after these mistakes.
I can't remember a single movie that made me cry as much as A Silent Voice. I cried when Shoya revealed he had learned sign language. I cried when Shoko's mother fell to her knees to beg for forgiveness from Shoya's mother. I was absolutely balling throughout Shoya and Shoko's reunion after the accident.
Yeah, that's right. I'm man enough to admit I cried a lot during this cartoon movie. (Image Courtesy of: kotaku.com)
Some of the movie's resonance for me does come from my own shared experience. I related to Shoko and Shoya. I rooted for them at every step. It is rare I ever get as invested in a romance as this one. However, I think the whole film can resonate with anyone because of how real it can often feel.
Even more than the story, the driving greatness of this movie is its animation. Kyoto Animation has made many beautiful anime over the years, but usually they have stuck to TV series or films expanding on those series. A Silent Voice uses everything the animation studio has in its arsenal.
The characters are immensely expressive, particularly felt in a few scenes focusing on Shoko. The environment especially in more dreamlike vibrant moments are breathtaking. I also cannot begin to praise enough the way the movie portrays Shoya's introverted nature with the Xs on faces and how that is constantly expressed.
There are never direct translations in subtitles for the sign language used by the characters. Sometimes it is given context or translated in dialogue, but most of the time it is up to the viewer to connect to the emotion behind the expressions. The animation of Shoko as she signs captures her meaning so beautifully that it always works.
Ultimately, I am not saying that A Silent Voice is perfect. It has more than its share of dialogue convenience and makes certain its characters get so woefully caught up in their own head space that they cannot communicate. This can be frustrating in moments where it is not needed.
This also is a film that takes such dark steps in its story it can make everything feel both overblown and under-expressed at certain moments. It is an emotional nightmare of an experience especially for those not ready for it. However, I have rarely been moved by an media the way that this movie moved me.
Throughout the two hours of A Silent Voice, I was glued to the screen. I so completely transported into its story that I did not even notice the time go by. It spoke to me on subjects I have never seen well represented in a way that helped give me a greater sense of peace with my own life.
It is not a movie for everyone and certainly not one that should be watched on a whim at any time. However, it is a story I will return to many times in the future, and I expect I'll be crying all over again when I do.
Even more than the story, the driving greatness of this movie is its animation. Kyoto Animation has made many beautiful anime over the years, but usually they have stuck to TV series or films expanding on those series. A Silent Voice uses everything the animation studio has in its arsenal.
The characters are immensely expressive, particularly felt in a few scenes focusing on Shoko. The environment especially in more dreamlike vibrant moments are breathtaking. I also cannot begin to praise enough the way the movie portrays Shoya's introverted nature with the Xs on faces and how that is constantly expressed.
There are never direct translations in subtitles for the sign language used by the characters. Sometimes it is given context or translated in dialogue, but most of the time it is up to the viewer to connect to the emotion behind the expressions. The animation of Shoko as she signs captures her meaning so beautifully that it always works.
Ultimately, I am not saying that A Silent Voice is perfect. It has more than its share of dialogue convenience and makes certain its characters get so woefully caught up in their own head space that they cannot communicate. This can be frustrating in moments where it is not needed.
This also is a film that takes such dark steps in its story it can make everything feel both overblown and under-expressed at certain moments. It is an emotional nightmare of an experience especially for those not ready for it. However, I have rarely been moved by an media the way that this movie moved me.
Throughout the two hours of A Silent Voice, I was glued to the screen. I so completely transported into its story that I did not even notice the time go by. It spoke to me on subjects I have never seen well represented in a way that helped give me a greater sense of peace with my own life.
It is not a movie for everyone and certainly not one that should be watched on a whim at any time. However, it is a story I will return to many times in the future, and I expect I'll be crying all over again when I do.
