Question of Silence

Shopping has never been so sinister. One could say that mindless walking around the shops is a perfect way of pacifying women. Marleen Gorris turns consumption rituals into a weapon against a world that, in waitresses, secretaries, wives, and mothers, sees only unconscious mannequins. On a perfectly normal day three clients murder a shop owner. The crime is not caused by any emotion or harm, but by the shopkeeper’s arrogant reaction to the insecure Christine’s attempt to steal a sweater. Psychiatrist Janine is supposed to assess the sanity of the accused women, who are forever connected by this bizarre gesture of solidarity. Enhanced by electronic music and flirting with the aesthetics of low budget sci-fi, A Question of Silence is a rediscovered feminist classic which is radical and mind-boggling in how it presents the truth about the humiliation of women. Laura Mulvey should like it.

Patrycja Mucha

Marleen Gorris (b. 1948) is a Dutch director and screenwriter. After studying drama in the Netherlands and in England, she made an auspicious debut as a filmmaker with A Question of Silence (1982). The film was critically acclaimed but also caused a lot of controversy. Her other films include Antonia’s Line (1995), which won the Oscar for best international film, and literary adaptations Mrs. Dalloway (1997) and The Luzhin Defence (2000).