A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi)

Reviewed by: Nick Evans

Score: 8/10

Recommendation: Buy the Blu-Ray (Too late for theaters)

Summary: A slow film for an average western audience movie goer. An engaging work of art for the film fanatic.

Review:

2016 was an historic year for Japanese animated films. There aren't many years that 2 films enjoy the critical acclaim and success that Your Name and A Silent Voice have received. Your Name may have made the most money of any animated film in Japan, but it was A Silent Voice that was considered by critics to be the better film. Obviously my love for Your Name has been discussed already, but I was finally able to see A Silent Voice this week after I missed it during its extremely limited US run. 

A Silent Voice is the story of a young deaf girl (named Shouko Nishimiya) who transfers to a boy's class (named Shoya Ishida). Shoya proceeds to bully the girl until, out of necessity, Shouko transfers to another elementary school. Years later, (during high school, of course, because anime characters can't exist outside of high school even if they die) Shoya encounters Shouko again and begins his path to redemption.

The film is a slice of life story, which means no special powers, no DragonBall Z transformations/hair dye, just a real life story. It focuses on communication disorders and how these characters deal with them. Shouko is deaf, so obviously she has trouble communicating. Shoya on the other hand has developed social anxiety and is unable to connect with people after a traumatic incident in his life. Early into the movie Shoya is shown covering his ears symbolizing both his similarities to Shouko and also him closing himself off from creating relationships with other people. These two characters grow together struggling with depression and their inability to create meaningful relationships. Of course, using animation as the medium to tell the story allows for some stylization. One of the more stylized choices is the X's drawn on the faces to emphasize Shoya's feeling towards his classmates. I was fine with this choice if it was just a little more consistent. It really only seemed to apply to his classmates and occasionally strangers but it wasn't constant. Maybe I missed the point, maybe the forgot it in post-production, smarter people than me can decide.

The animation is obviously top of the line. Kyoto animation doesn't mess around. The film is pretty and professionally executed. A lot of the cinematography is great and complex. It frequently conveys extra meaning to the watchful eye. Shoya's first scene in high school is especially difficult featuring complex animation/camera work. This seems almost excessively difficult to animate with the swaying camera at an unusual angle giving the audience the same feeling of discomfort felt by Shoya. The colors are mostly washed out and lighter giving most of the film an almost water colored appearance. The introduction with "My Generation" by The Who was unexpected but captured boyhood so perfectly and beautifully that The Who should ask to have it become their new music video. It also will give you unrealistic expectations of watching something like Guardians of the Galaxy if you aren't careful. 

Now for the warnings, this is a slow moving film. It can feel a little excessively dramatic and hard to understand some of the characters motives. I took a few intermissions in the middle of the film to make it all the way to the end. It just isn't as completely captivating as western films try to be. The message it tells, however, is much more important. This is one of those rare films that will be more engaging on subsequent viewings than the first. When watching films that look first to discuss difficult subjects and create art, and second to entertain an impatient audience, you will often find yourself distracted unless you are willing to really dissect the film. Unlike Your Name which I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone, A Silent Voice is a film I would only recommend to people who are interested in foreign animation or people who prefer slower paced artistic dramas with heavy themes (including depression, disorder, suicide). Of course if you read this review all the way to the end, you probably aren't a general audience member so you will probably love it! I greatly enjoyed A Silent Voice but also recognize that it won't please everyone but it certainly pleased me. I award A Silent Voice with 8 X's out of 10.