STAFF PICK: Silent Notes
By: Andrew Fisher – Young Filmmakers Director
Whoever said ‘love is blind’ only got it half right. It’s also deaf.
I’m a sucker for love stories. Tell me two people fall in love in a movie, and I want to see it. Silent Notes delivered on that end. The romantic leads have great chemistry and an interesting relationship.
Another thing that gets me – developed characters driving the story. In this movie, even the gumshoe has a character arc.
Another thing that gets me – beautiful images. Cinematographer Anna Franquesa-Solano provides plenty of those.
Director Toni Comas does some cool stuff with sound design to put us in the shoes of his main character, Bruce, who is deaf. We feel his frustration and fear as he attempts to navigate a world that is not always built for him, with people who don’t always understand him.
True love comes in the form of an abrasive man, Ethan. Ethan just wants someone to be quiet while he talks. Suddenly Bruce’s disability is a great strength in the relationship. They make an amazing team until the pesky police get involved.
Thank goodness the detective is like me – lonely and moved by a love story.
Silent Notes
(USA, 80 MIN)
Writer: Toni Comas, Anna Franquesa Solano & Jason Furlani
Director: Toni Comas
Cast: Daniel Durant, Matt Riker, Theodore Bouloukos, Jason Furlani
After finding out he is going deaf, Bruce is stuck at a crossroads: he needs a surgical intervention that he can’t afford. In his attempt to find a solution that will get him the money, he meets Ethan, a lonely man who needs above all someone to talk to. The unlikely pair will embark on a journey of no return, where Ethan can’t stop talking to Bruce, who is unable to hear.
Make sure you catch one of two showings of CROSSWORD while at AFF: