Silenced: A movie review and the truth it holds

Happy Wednesday people around the world :) Yesterday I shared how my Tuesday went and I gave a movie recommendations that are both 10/10 for me. I also promised you guys to give a more clearer review about it so that is the topic for today's article. Additionally, I decided to not just give a review but also some facts behind the movie.

Silenced is a movie that was released on year 2011 starring Gong Yoo. It is based on Gong Ji-young's novel The Crucible (SIlenced is the title when the film adaptation was released internationally). So the plot of the movie revolved on a new teacher and students from a school of deaf or hearing impaired and the crimes that took place there. This new teacher unfolded a crime as he found that the students are a bit strange and seems to be so distant from him. Even though the situation will put him in a tight spot, considering that he also has a daughter to take care of, he fought the heartless criminals who abused these children through law. Those criminals who abused the students are the principal, teachers, and some who just turned a blind eye. I am sad and really crying a lot of times while I watched it. I am mad how things turned out and the pain won't go away knowing the fact that the movie is based on real story.

As mentioned, I researched facts about this movie and try to learn more because I can't really move on easily. Upon researching, I found out that this novel/ movie is based on the incident that happened at Gwangju Inhwa School for deaf students, wherein (same as the movie portrayed) the deaf students are victims of sexual assaults by school administration members and a teacher over a period of five years, this happened repeatedly in the early 2000s.

Based on the investigation held on year 2005, six teachers (including the principal), sexually molested at least nine deaf (and mute) students from year 2000 to 20003 (or between that years). As a new teacher made effort to exposed their crimes by getting the attention of human rights agency in 2005, he was fired from his job. Afterwards, nine victims bravely speak up but it is believed that there are more victims but are too afraid to come out. After some former students exposed this to a national TV, the police are forced to investigate months after some victims come to light. Parents and students are all calling for justice, they even sit outside the offices of Gwangju city government and school for the period of eight months. The case did not drawn a lot of media attention and unfortunately, not all the perpetrators were jailed and punished. 4 out of six abuser received prison terms and the other two are free because the decree of limitations for their crime had expired. Also,  of the jailed criminals were released after less than a year after their terms were suspended. Did the victims gained justice? In my opinion, it is not enough.

What I love in this movie is, it gave light and changes to the laws of South Korea. It became an eye opener that there are various injustices in a lot of areas (police department and the law it self), terrible things are still happening and hence need an action.

This movie received high ratings and become a box office hit that two months after the film's released and the controversies it exposed, Gwangju city officially shuts down the school (Gwangju Inwha School).

You can read more about this if you want to, just type the school's name and you'll read a lot of articles about it. I recommend you to watch the movie as well, it's painful tho.

Till next time read cashers, thanks for reading this article despite the harsh truth it holds.

with love and curiousity,
curiouscath, Charlotte