StarsStarsStarsStarsStars

The Silent War

Can a blind piano tuner with super-sensitive hearing help China's newly-established Department 701 monitor covert enemy transmissions?
[This is archived content and may not display in the originally intended format.]

Set in 1949, this period spy drama centres upon the covert activities of the People’s Liberation Army’s Department 701, set up to intercept enemy radio messages and ultimately thwart any attempts to undermine mainland China’s newly formed communist government.

Unlikely hero He Bing (Tony Leung) is an assistant to a famous piano tuner. The blind Bing is able to hear frequencies that others cannot, making him a desirable candidate for Department 701, which has discovered that enemy Morse code messages are being transmitted on frequencies above the normal hearing range.

Bing is recruited by the real hero of the piece, the glamorous Zhang Xue Ning (Zhou Xun) and 701’s number one spy, with whom he quickly becomes infatuated. She does not return his interest; Xue Ning’s primary focus is her work, though there are hints of a romance with the director of 701, the wealthy playboy Guo Xingzhong (Wang Xuebing) who may or may not reciprocate her feelings.

The Silent War could have been a taut thriller, but by attempting to create a populist spy movie, the filmmakers, Alan Mak and Felix Chong, have failed to invest their story with the requisite tension; nor are their characters well developed enough to sustain interest in their romantic entanglements. Overall the film quite fails to satisfy, though the production design, at least, impresses.  

The sets are sumptuous, and beautifully detailed, from the swish hotel rooms (enemy strongholds which Agent 200 infiltrates) to the Morse code rooms, which magnificently illustrate the idea of collective strength. The orchestral score is rich, and a pleasant distraction from the pedestrian plot, but is unable to add much in the way of depth or drama to the overall shallowness of both storyline and characters.

Like the static listened to by Department 701’s operatives, this film lacks clarity, and ultimately becomes frustrating. The story lacks an emotional centre and can’t decide whether it is a spy thriller or a sub-par romance. Broad brushstrokes dilute any potential for intrigue, most of the action sequences are flaccid, and ultimately, we fail to really care about whose side we’re on.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

 

The Silent War

Directed by Alan Mak

Hong Kong, 2012, 120 mins

Madman Entertainment

Rated M

 

StarsStarsStarsStarsStars

0 out of 5 stars

Actors:

Director:

Format:

Country:

Release:

Helen Begley
About the Author
Helen Begley is a Melbourne song writer and musician who likes to have a crack at writing just about anything; albums, poems, stories, blogs, scripts, reviews, emails, phone numbers. She also likes teaching; songwriting, music theory, guitar, and how to write and send emails and text messages to people stuck in the '70's. She’s very neighbourly and has just completed an album called “The Bride”, recorded at her next door neighbour’s house and designed by her neighbour three doors down. She’s seriously thinking of asking the neighbour across the road to make the video. Her favourite food is cake.