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The Silence film image; young boy with eyes closed puts ear to basket of pomegranates

The Silence

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A blind 10-year-old living with his mother in a small Tajikistan village, Khorshid earns money tuning musical instruments, while Nadereh — the beautiful protege of the instrument maker for whom Khorshid works — acts as his eyes, fetching him every day at the bus stop and leading him through the streets. About to lose his job and home, Khorshid creates a world where he can be happy — where hypnotic sounds and the music of the world shows him how to experience life.

A hypnotic symphony of visual and aural rhythms from one of Iran’s greatest filmmakers — here in the “poetic” phase of his career, replete with ecstactic spiritual symbolism and strains of Beethoven. Despite being virtually plotless (or because of it) the film has been banned in Iran since 1998.

Radiantly sensuous

New York Times

A flip-book of gorgeous, lyrical images

— San Francisco Examiner

 

Media Partner

Director

Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Cast

Tahmineh Normatova, Nadereh Abdelahyeva, Goibibi Ziadolahyeva, Araz M. Shirmohamadi

Credits
Country of Origin

Iran

Year

1998

Language

In Farsi with English subtitles

Focus
19+
76 min

Book Tickets

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Credits

Screenwriter

Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Cinematography

Ebrahim Ghafori

Editor

Mohsen Makhmalbaf

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