Writer: Ankita Panda (Kolkata, West Bengal, India)
Editor: Divya Sonawane (Pune, Maharashtra, India)
Silenced or Dogani (도가니), also known as The Crucible, is not a usual South Korean movie made purely for entertainment. Instead, it exposes the darker side of humanity and the failures of the legal system, doing so in a deeply impactful way.
Based on the novel The Crucible by Gong Ji-young, the film stars Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Kim Hyun-soo, Jung In-seo, Baek Seung-hwan, and Jang Gwang. The novel is based on the true events that took place at Gwanju Inhwa School for the hearing-impaired.
Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, distributed by CJ Entertainment and released on 22nd September, 2011, with a running time of 125 mins. The narrative portrayed shook the citizens of South Korea to their core, with over 4 million people having watched the movie, the public outrage reached the National Assembly of South Korea, where a revised bill titled the Dogani Bill was passed in October 2011, to abolish the statute of limitations for sex crimes against minors and the disabled.
Trigger warning for sexual abuse, violence against minors, nudity, rape, pedophilia, and suicide.
The plot of the movie revolves around Kang In-ho (Gong Yoo), who is a newly appointed teacher at Ja-ae School for hearing-impaired children located in Mujin. He is excited to teach the children art, but soon realizes that something is wrong. The children try to avoid interacting with him, and mostly act aloof or scared.
He soon confirms his suspicion when he sees a teacher beating up a student mercilessly in the staff room while the other teachers turn a blind eye and pretend that it’s not happening; this makes him realize that it’s probably not the first time this has happened. He is told that he shouldn’t be treating the children as “normal” because they are not sane, as being disabled also makes them “mentally ill”.
Later, In-ho encounters the warden of the hostel physically abusing a student; he interferes and takes her to the hospital. He realizes that the “awarded best school in Mujin” is hiding a lot of despicable truths, and decides to contact Seo Yu-jin (Jung Yu-mi), who works at the Mujin Human Rights Center, for help.
They soon learn from Yeon-du (Kim Hyun-soo), the kid admitted to the hospital, that the children are being sexually abused by the principal of the school, as well as some of the teachers. In-ho is disgusted to his core when he learns what the children have been enduring in secret, and decides to put his foot down by exposing them, even if the consequence is losing his job.
But In-ho and Yu-jin soon realize that exposing them won’t be easy because of the corrupt judicial system. It is honestly so disheartening to watch them struggle, even with enough evidence, just because the accused has money and influence.
The movie highlights how the powerful often exploit marginalized communities. Even after conviction, the abusers receive only fines and probation because they have no prior criminal record and have participated in charity work. It becomes clear that wealth and connections matter more than justice.
The content of the movie is really heavy and depicts pretty graphic and sensitive scenes, so the camera direction plays an important role here, and it was done meticulously by Hwang Dong-hyuk. He made sure not to pan the camera away when an incident was taking place, as if to force the audience into realizing what the children went through. He was telling the viewers that they have the option of closing their eyes or skipping the scenes, but the victims were helpless and were being taken advantage of over and over again and were being taken advantage of the fact that they are disabled.
This movie splendidly portrayed the discrimination that the hearing-impaired face and how they are taken advantage of and neglected by society and the law. It served its purpose of not only exposing the injustice but also bringing about change in society. Silenced portrays a hard-hitting real incident that took place with amazing cinematic language, which leaves the audience angry, heartbroken, but in awe of the storytelling.
Would you watch a movie that is painful to witness, yet powerful enough to change society?
Yes I would, as long as it tells the story honestly and with purpose. Movies like that can be hard to watch, but they leave a real impact and make you think beyond just entertainment.