041 - telling a story with no words (3-Iron)

Silent films get on my nerves. Most of the time they're artistic pieces that never really touch me or have no real relevance to me other than the fact that no one spoke in the movie at all. However, when my friend told me there was very powerful drama that was silent, it kinda peaked my interest.


Directed by Kim Ki-Duk, 3-Iron(also known as Bin-jib) is a Korean drama about a guy that goes day by day sleeping in empty houses. I don't want to give away much else since that's for you to see. It's a really smart film that you've got to see anyway. Seriously.

Anyhow, the film itself isn't completely silent, only the main characters in the film are silent. Quite frankly, I'm glad Ki-Duk opted for some sound or else I think I'd have gone crazy. Plus given that most of the film is silent(with respect to dialogue) when words or sounds are made, they become that much more piercing. I think in the future I'll challenge myself to write a story with similar constraints, so I thought it'd be good to take ideas that this film really executed well.

1. Your character can still speak, just not in front of the camera.
When I made my own short, I got bogged down because of the fact that my character had to be silent. But the fact is, you have to remember whatever is front of the camera or heard through it is all that matters. Plain and simple. The camera doesn't capture the whole world only a slice.

2. If you don't want your audience to get annoyed at the character's muteness, make sure there's a reason why the character is mute.
My film teacher got pissed when I showed my first silent film. It was a scene where a character was reading a poem to his girlfriend. If I saw something like this on the big screen, I'd probably throw non-existent tomatoes as well. It's annoying. Just give the guy a mic!
However, it's different if the guy is breaking into your home and can't talk. In situations like that it's believable. Make us believe he's not stupid.

3. Once the muteness between characters is established, think of scenarios that would scream for them to say something. But have them still stay quiet. It makes you look smart :).
After 30 min of a character saying nothing(even if it's justifiable) anyone starts to wonder whether or not this movie is believable. And that's never good! So make them get into an accident, make them kill someone, or have someone close to them die. Something so powerful that the audience cries/screams and expects the character too. But then figure out a way for the character to express their pain without words. If you can do that, then that is respect.

Maybe when I get around to writing a silent drama, I'll post excerpts or something. But for now I'll just sit back and ponder over the power of film and how often my writings don't take full advantage of it.