During the Occupation, a German officer, who is also musician and an intellectual, is billeted in the countryside in the home of an old French farmer and his niece. They have sworn never to speak to the invader and listen in silence as the German pours out his ideas about music, the war and his love of France. I wanted to attempt a language composed entirely of images and sounds, and from which movement and action would be more or less banished”, said director Jean-Pierre Melville. See also: ‘Tu n’as rien vu a Hiroshima’[X000658], episode 10 of ‘Histoire du Cinema Francais’, contains an interview with Jean-Pierre Melville in which he explains how he had to film ‘Le silence de la mer’ outisde the strict control of the CNC (Centre National de la Cinematographie) and why he sought the approval of the French Resistance Movement before releasing this work. See also: Jean-Pierre Melville Cineaste (X001808, 16mm).
Credits: Producer, Marcel Cartier ; director, Jean-Pierre Melville ; writer, Jean-Pierre Melville ; photography, Henri Decae ; music, Edgar Bischoff.
Cast: Howard Vernon, Nicole Stephane, Jean-Marie Robain.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000263
Languages
English
French
Subject category
Foreign language films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)