Silence

SILENCE is a Ukrainian short film written and directed by Pavlo Shpegun. The film stars young, fresh-faced actors, with Hryhoriy Naumov as Luka and Iolanta Bohdiun as ‘Mia’. Set in the war-torn country of Ukraine, SILENCE poses intriguing questions about identity and time, using almost exclusively indoor, intimate shooting styles to create a dreamlike array of sequences with surreal characters. The film incorporates political dark humour and relies on the impeccable chemistry between Naumov and Bohdiun to carry most of the narrative. It all begins when Luka’s stand-up comedy act has a very disappointing reception, enjoyed only, and wholeheartedly, by a mysterious nameless woman, who requests to stay over at his place.

Shpegun’s short had a tremendous run at the 83rd International Venice Film Festival, receiving the newly established prize of the Airone della Laguna- International Collateral Award. One of its many achievements is in the film’s ingenious title; a play on words, as the writers parallel the significance of silence in a comedian’s terms- a marker of their death- to the indefinite silence of the tragic lives lost to the conflict in Ukraine. Whilst bringing avid awareness to the monstrosities occurring in the current political world, SILENCE is mostly a lighthearted film, and fits, though atypically, within the romance genre.

Luka and Mia’s first interactions do not present an immediate spark the way viewers may expect within a meet-cute. Their conversations are slightly awkward and Luka even seems uncomfortable with the forwardness of Mia’s intrusion. However, as the film goes on, the two characters are brought together by an emotional connection, more specifically a shared understanding of the devastating world they are living in. This acknowledgement seems to bring them both some comfort, as they both recognise that their hopelessness brings them a sense of freedom.

Mia is characterised very similarly to Kate Winslet’s Clementine Kruczynski as seen in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, fitting into the manic pixie dream girl trope with her mysterious and unpredictable personality. Similarly to Charlie Kaufman’s 2004 sci-fi romance, there is intrigue in the clear temporality of Luka and Mia's relationship, and in the way the characters seem not to fully understand one another, or the world around them, but still have a distinct and unique connection which audiences feel transfixed by.

Along with its surreal feel and alluring characters, SILENCE contains important commentary about modern relationships, particularly in concordance with the patriarchy and the way that women are taken advantage of. Some nuances of this are seen in the subtle shot choices during Luka and Mia’s sexual exchange, as there is no attention drawn to intimacy or pleasure; it is a purely loveless act, posing the way that sex is seen as an expectation in dating nowadays, rather than an act of passionate connection.

With many strong ideas about the political state of the world, touching characters, and incredibly artful uses of lighting and handheld camera work, SILENCE is an excellent example of genre-blending filmmaking, with an incredibly memorable finish to fully bring the film’s message home.