A lot of people are not huge fans of Japanese anime. I fall in the category, “I’m not that crazy about anime, but I do watch and enjoy a couple once they were well-written enough.” Nevertheless, on one quiet Friday night I had been searching online for a unique story to watch. I can’t remember how I came across this particular movie after searching Google. But little did I know that I would quickly consider it to be the best movie of all time.
At first glance the movie looked pretty ordinary to me. But then I looked over to the right side of my computer screen and saw all the rave reviews the movie had gotten. The reviews were enough to make me take a shot with it, despite the “over two hours length” of the movie. It was settled; I went in and had no expectations as to whether or not this movie would be worth it.
The best movie of all time
Now a story can be told a million times. But it’s always been said that the execution of the story is what makes the difference. The Silent Voice (aka as The Shape of Voice) is artistic as it is funny, quirky as it is lovely. All in all, there are so many great things that I can say about this movie; it is everything in one movie that has ever been able to touch my heart.
This movie was able to reach me in ways that no other movie has been able to. And this is considering that for several years I had placed Titanic as my favorite movie of all time. But in later years I did encounter more memorable stories. To date, however, The Silent Voice still holds the #1 place for me.
What the movie is about
The overview of The Silent Voice is about a deaf girl who tries to speak so that everyone could hear and a boy who can speak, just like everyone else, yet refuses to listen. From this concept, comes a story about how two teenagers must learn how to exist in each other’s world, i.e., if they wish to understand the other while risking the crumbling of their own worlds.
The journey that takes them through each other’s life is one filled with hope, humility and hospitality. And while these traits have been seen endlessly in movies, there’s something truly beautiful about the way they were expressed in The Silent Voice.
Portrayed as children, you feel for these characters, especially when you can relate to them with your heart and soul; you feel every ounce of their joys and pain. And in many instances you just wish you can do something to help. In the first few minutes of the movie, I was already filled with rage for the boy and empathy for the little girl. I had to keep reminding myself that these are just carton characters. Yet, this movie is as real as it gets.
What makes the movie the best
I rate this movie so highly is because it does not try to be too many things at once; it manages to tell one of the most powerful and humane stories about humans (without using actual humans) and how they live their lives. It does this so well that it is also able to positively transform the way you view the world.
In my case, this movie did not transform my overall thinking because of who I had already become by then. But by the end of it I received confirmation that I bad been living life the way life was meant to be lived. It made me also appreciate the fact that I did not always live life that way.
More than just a movie
A movie that can instantly and permanently change the way you live your life; few things in the world can trump this for me. The Silent Voice may not end up being the best movie of all time for everyone. But I do believe that at some point everyone should at least give it one watch.
With that said, if you are deeply in tune with your feelings and tend to easily become one with the hearts of others, be warned … this movie will make you cry. But for all it’s worth, know that if you do cry … for both yourself and all of humanity your tears would definitely be worth it.
