Silent Mist

In a village in southern China, where a river passes through, some women are raped. However, rather than causing an uproar, the village is silent. Instead, the villagers whisper behind backs, and a racketeer even preys on the parents of the victims, promising them that he would solve the case. Before the case occurs, the village is shrouded in mist, just like a prelude. "Mist" is the key to understand the movie. As the title Silent Mist suggests, the aftermath of the incident pervades the whole village like a mist, but the villagers keep silent as if it is no business of theirs. The camera plays a role in the film, like a witness following the victims, but at the moment the assailant commits the crime, it steps back like a bystander. The camera traces every path and turn in the village and captures the scenes where the victims, the attacker, and the villagers encounter each other as if nothing happened. Through this camera movement, the film delineates in a silent but hideous manner the appalling fact that it is the victims who have to suffer all the pain of the crime. (Busan International Film Festival)