Silent Voice
Silent Voice is a hard movie to watch. It is all about these kids and how they react to a series of events that happened in Elementary school. The main issue revolves around a boy that bullied a girl that can't hear. Then after being called out for it, he is bullied himself. This all happens in the first 20 minutes of the film and doesn't get any easier.
As the film progresses, you will see how everyone reacts as their "broken" personalities clash among each other. I have to say that in quotes because not one of them is considered normal and they all deal with it in the most extreme way (like attempting suicide). We have the narcissist who talks behind everyone's back, the insecure girl who keeps people at a distance with her brash conduct, the disillusioned man living in a fantasy, and someone dealing with social anxiety. Nearly every character is dealing with some issue that the film almost tears itself apart.
What I will say about the film is it presents the feelings of the main protagonist and his companions in a spectacular fashion. The most obvious thing you will see is the giant pulsing cross-marks over everyone's face representing the guy's anxiety avoidance. Sound cues also show off how a deaf person would hear the world. There are quite a few I might have missed with my one time watching the film that the manga may have expanded.
I can't say for certainty whether or not I liked the film. I would have to say that I really don't like Ueno Naoka's character. She had very little character development and her small redemption scene of attempting sign language at the end is not enough for me to like her. If a person ever became physical with me like she did in the movie I would definitely not want to be her friend. I've seen plenty of people who perform outwardly in a toxic behavior like that to know that they will continue until it is well-received (as in they refuse the change and force others to accept who they are).
5-17-2017