Silence in film and understanding of silence in the seventh art poses many
questions. The results of the analysis of these four films gave their unique
answers to the said questions. The unique relationship of silence and sound
was considered, and the reason for dedicating equal attention to both ends of
this important spectre was to reach better understanding of the films that
served as case studies, as well as to understand message or messages that
were given to the viewers in conjuction with the action on screen (or lack
thereof). Special attention was also given to several elements that, I
believe, play vital part in understanding the usage of silence in film, such
as: character?s behaviour and body language as well as his appearance, his
relationship with other characters, and, maybe most important, the reason why
director chose to build specific sound world around the particular character.
Jef Costello (Le Samourai), as a character, is defined by his cold exterior,
few words and little to no dialogue he exchanges with other characters -
silence is inherent to him as a person. Goya?s Ghosts is the perfect example
of the biopic that can be built around one specific information from a
person?s biography. Of course, I?m speaking of Goya?s loss of hearing which
was illustrated in the film via his relationship with other characters and
also via the fact that, like Costello, he expresses himself using body
language, except it is for entirely different reasons. In the third case
study, George Valentin is a character whose profession is silence and who
refuses to give it up for the sake of new technological advancement in films
- sound, the sole enemy to his professional survival (the very film The
Artist is a silent movie depicting this golden era of film history). Last
case study provides an insight into the nature of vow of silence, especially
in stoic sense of the word. Namely, character Frank Valera takes a vow of
silence until he avenges his family and the basis for his vow is the book
Meditations which Marcus Aurelius wrote. Equipped with the appropriate
theoretical apparatus, these four ?views? on silence show how silence can be
understood and presented in diverse ways. Directors may use it to reach
better effectiveness of the film they direct and that fact has been,
ultimately, manifested through four unique types of silence: 1) silence as
the absence of dialogue and as dominant ?sound landscape? of the film, filled
with ambient sounds and, therefore, realistic (Le Samourai), 2) loss of
auditory world and entrance into the embrace of silence (Goya?s Ghosts), 3)
genre-specific silence (The Artist) and 4) stoic silence (Acts of Vengeance).
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