Francis Ng’s “A Place Called Silence” Becomes Summer’s Surprise Hit

In recent years, the appeal of Hong Kong stars at the box office in China has been dwindling. Francis Ng’s (吳鎮宇) crime suspense film A Place Called Silence <默殺> was a surprise hit and quickly reached the billion-dollar mark in box office sales.

Hong Kong film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In <九龍城寨之圍城> was released this summer and although it was well received in China, it only grossed 680 million yuan, which was much lower than expected. The following two Hong Kong films, Crisis Negotiators <談判專家> and Customs Frontline <海關戰線> received 156 million yuan and 129 million yuan respectively. Their results were not as expected and Chinese netizens started questioning the appeal of Hong Kong films and stars.

However, when the crime suspense film A Place Called Silence <默殺> was released, the box office exceeded 1.25 billion yuan. Ranking in the top ten of box office revenue this year, A Place Called Silence also ranked first in the category of suspense films. The film received good reviews and although the movie also stars Crisis Negotiators lead, Francis Ng (吳鎮宇), the movie resonated with the audience. This proves that Hong Kong stars still have their market, but the direction of the story and casting need to be adjusted.

A Place Called Silence is written and directed by Malaysia’s emerging director Ke Wenli (柯汶利). It stars Eric Wang (王傳君), Janine Chang (張鈞甯) and Francis Ng (吳鎮宇). The plot of the movie revolves around a girls’ middle school. The short trailer was packed with action and suspense, as the female students in the auditorium were running away in panic because someone has been murdered again. Xiaotong, a special needs student with a speech impediment, was brutally bullied by her classmates. The bully was killed by a mysterious man wearing a black raincoat on a rainy night and found dead in the school. Soon after, Xiaotong was abducted and disappeared.

Janine Chang plays her mother and is also the school janitor. She previously witnessed her daughter being bullied but could only suffer silently and is worried over her disappearance.

Francis Ng plays the police officer in charge of the case. He is later revealed to have a close relationship with a mysterious young person who secretly takes pictures of others.

Eric Wang is the number one suspect. He invokes a lot of empathy when the audience sees his grief over losing his daughter, but his expressions in other scenes were also chilling.

The young actors in the movie gave outstanding performances. Wang Shengdi (王聖迪) who plays Xiaotong, has no dialogue in the entire film and relies entirely on facial expressions. Xu Jiao (徐嬌) made a cameo as a special needs student who is innocent and fragile.

Contrary from other crime suspense films, A Place Called Silence does not simply stop at the analysis of solving the case, but deeply explores the complex motives and respective situations of each character. Director Ke Wenli draws the audience into a suspenseful and tense situation through sharp and complex camera angles coupled with fast paced and clean editing. The plot frequently takes unexpected turns with the complexity of the case along with the many clues. The numerous twists and turns focus on exploring the human nature of the characters, allowing the audience to resonate with them. This complexity makes A Place Called Silence a masterpiece in the crime suspense genre.

Source: [1]

This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.