The initial scene is a bit disorienting. We would have to wait for almost the end of it to see where it fits. The film by director Lea Fehner, a former social worker, well acquainted with the lives of prisoners and their families, tries her hand at making sense of the tragedy people in her story are going through. In a way, this film reminds us a bit of other movies where different lives, unrelated to one another converge in a common area, usually at the end of the story to clarify it for us.
There is Laure, a teenager who is into playing soccer at her school. She meets a young man, Alexandre, on a bus, on her way home. He manages to get her interest as the two become intimate. Alexandre, a name he has given himself, lands in jail for attacking a police officer. He has a long history of petty crime. Laure is sad, when she finds out about Alexandre's plight. Being a minor, she cannot visit him in prison. To get around it, she befriends Antoine, a medial technician to help her get to see her man.
We meet Zorah, an Algerian woman that has gone back to Algiers to bring her dead son, who has been fatally wounded. Not heeding the advice of her relatives, Zorah decides to return to Marseille, where she hopes to get to know the reason for her son's death. One day, while walking, she sees Celine, a real estate agent, crying inside her office. Celine is inconsolable. The reason of her sorrow has to do with her brother being in prison, accused of killing a man. Celine offers Zorah a job, helping her with her two children on her spare time. But Celine wants her to do something for her, she cannot do, visit her brother in jail.
The other character in the story is Stephane, a young man that works as a sort of messenger, using his motorcycle for work. He lives with Elsa, a complicated woman that resorts to turning tricks in order to get some money for drinking. Elsa is battered by three guys coming out of the metro. Fortunately, she is saved by Pierre, a mysterious man that is taken aback by Stephane, when he meets him. There is an uncanny resemblance to his partner in crime, now serving time. Pierre has an interesting proposal, why not change places with his buddy? Stephane will become rich if he goes along with the plan, where supposedly, he stands to get a light sentence after he is found out.
"Silent Voices", directed by Lea Fehner, keeps out attention. All these souls have suffered blows that life thrown in their path. How they deal with the tragedies that each has suffered is the basis for three people being in jail for crimes and it serves as the ultimate converging point of all the characters. The film has a slow pace, much of what is going to happen is presented by degrees, the viewer's sense of disorientation helps to become interested in the three narratives Ms. Fehner presents.
Ms. Fehner's achievement has been in the way she handled her cast. Best of all, Farida Rahouadi who plays the grieving mother Zorah. Her performance is controlled, without any hysterics some other director would have gone for. Zorah's dignity in reaching out of her son's killer shows Ms. Rahouadi's talent. Reda Kateb is seen as Stephane. He is a young actor that has been getting good roles and seems poised for a nice career in the movies. Pauline Etienne is wonderful as Laure, the confused teen that experiences her first love. Marc Barbe, Dinara Drukarova, Vincen Rottiers, Julien Lucas and Delphine Chillot are excellent in supporting roles.
There is Laure, a teenager who is into playing soccer at her school. She meets a young man, Alexandre, on a bus, on her way home. He manages to get her interest as the two become intimate. Alexandre, a name he has given himself, lands in jail for attacking a police officer. He has a long history of petty crime. Laure is sad, when she finds out about Alexandre's plight. Being a minor, she cannot visit him in prison. To get around it, she befriends Antoine, a medial technician to help her get to see her man.
We meet Zorah, an Algerian woman that has gone back to Algiers to bring her dead son, who has been fatally wounded. Not heeding the advice of her relatives, Zorah decides to return to Marseille, where she hopes to get to know the reason for her son's death. One day, while walking, she sees Celine, a real estate agent, crying inside her office. Celine is inconsolable. The reason of her sorrow has to do with her brother being in prison, accused of killing a man. Celine offers Zorah a job, helping her with her two children on her spare time. But Celine wants her to do something for her, she cannot do, visit her brother in jail.
The other character in the story is Stephane, a young man that works as a sort of messenger, using his motorcycle for work. He lives with Elsa, a complicated woman that resorts to turning tricks in order to get some money for drinking. Elsa is battered by three guys coming out of the metro. Fortunately, she is saved by Pierre, a mysterious man that is taken aback by Stephane, when he meets him. There is an uncanny resemblance to his partner in crime, now serving time. Pierre has an interesting proposal, why not change places with his buddy? Stephane will become rich if he goes along with the plan, where supposedly, he stands to get a light sentence after he is found out.
"Silent Voices", directed by Lea Fehner, keeps out attention. All these souls have suffered blows that life thrown in their path. How they deal with the tragedies that each has suffered is the basis for three people being in jail for crimes and it serves as the ultimate converging point of all the characters. The film has a slow pace, much of what is going to happen is presented by degrees, the viewer's sense of disorientation helps to become interested in the three narratives Ms. Fehner presents.
Ms. Fehner's achievement has been in the way she handled her cast. Best of all, Farida Rahouadi who plays the grieving mother Zorah. Her performance is controlled, without any hysterics some other director would have gone for. Zorah's dignity in reaching out of her son's killer shows Ms. Rahouadi's talent. Reda Kateb is seen as Stephane. He is a young actor that has been getting good roles and seems poised for a nice career in the movies. Pauline Etienne is wonderful as Laure, the confused teen that experiences her first love. Marc Barbe, Dinara Drukarova, Vincen Rottiers, Julien Lucas and Delphine Chillot are excellent in supporting roles.