Frozen Silence (Spanish: Silencio en la nieve), 2011.
Directed by Gerardo Herrero.
Starring Juan Diego Botto, Carmelo Gomez, Rafa Castejon.
SYNOPSIS:
In World War II, a former police inspector is tasked with hunting a brutal killer amidst the chaos, death and destruction of the Russian Front.
The Second World War has been a consistent source of inspiration for cinema for the last 60 odd years. There have been innumerable depictions of famous battles, not so famous battles, alternate realities, or mere tweaks on history for dramatic effect. There is very little left that hasn’t been covered, and even if a specific story hasn’t been given the cinematic treatment, the results and subsequent war movie clichés checklist is normally adhered to.
Frozen Silence, based off the novel by Ignacio del Valle, is a Spanish made film from the point of view of a Battalion of the blue division (largely Spanish volunteers) set in the battlegrounds in Russia. A group of soldiers find a frozen lake with several dead horses in. They also find a soldier who has been murdered, with a message carved into his chest. To the concern of those in charge, former police inspector turned soldier, Arturo Andrade is sent to investigate the murder and any possible links to a pro-Soviet conspiracy, leading him through a dark underworld. Essentially it’s kind of a Miss Marple murder mystery set during WWII.
In many ways Frozen Silence is a compelling film. The more interpersonal nature of it is a change from the stereotypical battle sequence orientated nature of most war films. The story itself is intriguing. The delivery flawed. The film fails to maintain audience interest. For something that feels like a one hour episodic murder mystery, it is thus too long at a hundred minutes or so. With a dearth in big battle scenes etc, what you’re left with is lots of sequences of Andrade just going from place to place and being a bit inquisitive. There needs to be more thrust in the story, a bit more complication and a bit more action. There are still memorable sequences, such as the Russian roulette and the opening itself with some striking imagery.
Technically the film looks good. The cinematography is solid, if very conventional. Director Gerrardo Herrero offers little more than serviceable in something that requires strong direction to get the most out of a good concept. The cast are good. The film to its credit doesn’t delve into too much of the camaraderie and mutual telling of stories back home, that will inevitably mean said person will meet their doom simply for telling someone about the little lady back home in their house with the white picket fence. Juan Diego Botto is a solid enough lead, but perhaps lacking a strong presence of charisma.
In all, Frozen Silence gets points for concept more so than delivery. War buffs may enjoy seeing a slightly different perspective than normal, but to general audiences there won’t be enough here to hold interest. None-the-less, the film is an interesting mis-fire.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
Originally published May 13, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
