Film · 2016
A Silent Voice
聲の形
Shoya seeks out Shoko, the deaf girl he bullied at school, hoping to address the harm he caused. Their attempt to reconnect involves classmates who also took part. The film follows awkward conversations, guilt and the difficulty of listening without making forgiveness a condition of an apology.
The classmates who once joined in turn on Shoya, leaving him to grow up isolated. By the time he looks for Shoko again, he is both a former bully and someone excluded by the same group. That history makes a reunion more complicated than two people starting a friendship without knowing anything about each other.
Shoko has learnt to smile through difficult encounters to avoid friction. That makes a pleasant expression an unreliable guide to how comfortable she feels. Director Naoko Yamada’s casting notes also single out Saori Hayami’s sensitivity to sound, drawing attention to the texture of Shoko’s voice as well as what she says.
Standalone film · Approx. 130 min · one film
Standalone 2016 animated film; rounded from the BBFC's 129m34s cinema and 129m40s home editions.
