Silent Friend is a quietly ambitious film about three different people at three different points in time, united by a connection to plants and a fascination for the world around them.
The early score and song selections contribute to a nice calming atmosphere. They are very nice to listen to, engaging you in the harmonious imagery. The calm tone allows you to reflect on the themes of isolation. Through different forms of isolation, we watch the three characters find connection both through plants and the study of them. We feel empathy for these characters and their unique plights of isolation and enjoy watching the journey to see what will happen next in their journeys.
The film’s focus on plants allows us to see how characters connect to nature and how that is the one constant companion for Man. It asks why we do not treat each other and plants with the respect that we should often.
Friend features very cool framing in many shots that is interesting to see. A lot of those shots are from the tree’s point of view as we get to feel as if the main gingko tree is studying the characters and together with the other plants observing the humans as we observe the plants. A lot of shots also place plants in the foreground or background, helping capture the characters and their relationship to nature. There are lots of creative camera choices that help capture the emotional experience of characters. The idea of isolation is aided by the fact that a lot of the shots are distant. We as an audience are kept farther away from the actual characters themselves.
The film is also grounded, carried by some interesting dialogue scenes with great performances from its cast in its three different time periods. The college student in the 1970s, 16 mm sequences are very good in particular and have a lot of great humorous lines. Silent Friend is a fascinating film that I want to watch again. It is a deeply intimate in some of the most unexpected ways.
Silent Friend is playing at TIFF ’25. For more information, click here.
