The Silence (1998)

Genres - Drama, Music, Family & Personal Relationships  |   Sub-Genres - Childhood Drama  |   Release Date - Nov 10, 1999 (USA)  |   Run Time - 73 min.  |   Countries - France, Iran  |   MPAA Rating - NR
  • AllMovie Rating
    8
  • User Ratings (0)
  • Your Rating

Share on

Synopsis by Bhob Stewart

Mohsen Makhmalbaf directed this Iranian-French drama set in the small town of Tadjikstan where Khorshid (Tahmineh Normatova), a blind 10-year-old, lives with his mother. Years earlier, his father went to Russia and never came back. Mother and son occupy a rented house by the river, but they are threatened with eviction by a landlord who wants the overdue rent. Khorshid makes daily bus trips to a maker of stringed musical instruments where he works as a tuner. As Khorshid moves about Tadjikstan, the film explores his world -- his fascination with the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, the colorful garments worn by women of the area, bread and fruit vendors alongside the river, and the huge marketplace. One day Khoshid gets lost in the large market and is helped by Nadereh (Nadereh Abdelahyeva), a young woman who substitutes flower petals for nail polish and cherries for earrings. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival and the 1998 Montreal Film Festival.

Characteristics

Keywords

blindness [physical], eviction, landlord, mother, musical-instrument, single-parent, small-town, son