From the get go we the audience find out who the perpetrators are, who is the aggressor and who is the submissive accomplice to the first rape and murder of a young girl riding home on her bicycle in 1986. As the two criminals, Ulrich Thomsen (as Peer Sommer) and Woltan Mohring (as Timo Friedrich) lives unfold over the next 23 years we observe the police relentless pursuit of what they believe to be a single rapist and murderer. Families of the victim and police are heart broken and suffer immense internal pain and personal break ups in their respective marriages. We the audience can't wait to see how these two evil doers will be discovered and justice will prevail.Then, 23 years later we witness another young girl arguing with her parents about her school grades and in a retaliatory stance she takes off with her back pack and tennis racket under the pretense that if her father won't drive her to the tennis court she will get there on her own. Instead once outside of her parents near grasp she heads to the amusement park to meet her friends who don't show up at the amusement park. As dusk falls she decides to ride her bike home alone, but a cars bright headlights are following her and within the time it takes the audience to take a deep breath, she disappears and is announced by the police and media as another missing person.Who killed her? We are not sure but we have a pretty good idea. The submissive perpetrator Timo Friedrich, who now has a loving wife and two children of his own is still haunted by the 1986 murder and decides to confront the alpha dog Peer Sommer. Will they attempt to capture, rape and torture another girl now that they are back together, or will they attempt to kill each other to maintain "The Silence"? In the true sense of the thriller genre we the audience with our investigative and limited analytical brains scrambling trying to figure how this will end are witness to a sad but true to life ending that has occurred all around the world with the senseless murders of so many young girls and with the unknown and continued silence of the who and why? The police force who have been on this case for the past 23 years celebrate the lead investigators retirement with new detectives vigorously re-opening the original case now that a second missing girl has been reported missing in the exact same location. There is much tension in the ways and means the investigation should be handled by the lead detective and his captain.This film is well worth a watch even with English sub titles. It will capture your heart and soul for a different outcome then the silence. A strong 8 out of 10 rating is deserved for this German released film.

Based on the novel by Jan Costin Wagner, "The Silence" is a fascinating, beautifully realized crime drama from Germany.The movie centers around two identical crimes, both occurring at the identical place, though 23 years apart. Both involve the murder and possible rape of a young girl biking alone through an isolated meadow.The script by Baran bo Odar examines the case from the viewpoints of the perpetrators, the victims, the victims' families, and the law enforcement officials who have some pretty intense psychological issues of their own to deal with. The life-shattering impact on the parents, along with their inconsolable grief, the frustrations of the investigators, the remorse and guilt (or lack thereof) on the part of the criminals - all are woven into a rich tapestry that mixes crime-and-detection elements with generous dollops of morbid psychology.The most interesting character is Timo Friedrich (superbly enacted by Wotan Wilke Mohring), an "accomplice" to the initial crime and a prime suspect in the second, who has so many inner demons of his own to account for that he has become utterly consumed by feelings of guilt and self-loathing.Unlike in the typical American police procedural, the investigators here are not played by drop-dead gorgeous movie stars but by frumpy, slightly saggy and balding middle-aged performers who look like actual honest-to-God people you might encounter in real life. And all are excellent.In addition, the movie doesn't cater to the audience's desire for a clear-cut resolution, and in so doing, acknowledges that life does not always work out the way it does in the movies.Odar's direction is both spare and slightly surreal at times, so that the world he's portraying always feels strangely off-kilter, as befits the subject matter.A triumph for all concerned, "The Silence" is easily one of the best movies of 2013 thus far.

Oh dear. Germany has produced quite a few films like this. They contain long, long silences, which are meant to be artistic and profound. In fact, the result is often boredom, and perhaps even worse than that, a lack of proper development of the situation, the characters and the plot. It's as if any German (or Swiss, in this case) director worth his or her salt must disdain anything that might smack of conventional, clichéd storytelling. Unfortunately, they just swap them for other clichés and become lethargic in the process. Apparently this film has been compared to the Killing (the Danish TV serial) and I can see some similarities - except that the Danes know how to combine the elegaic with interesting characters and a story that moves.It's a shame, because there are good actors in here, especially Möhring and Blomberg. The latter might overact a bit, but he is nevertheless compelling to watch. I can't recommend it.

When the bicycle of a 13-year-old Sinikka is discovered in the exact same wheat field where a heinous murder/rape took place 23 years prior, retired police detective Krischan senses that the two crimes are connected, and vows to bring the killer to justice. The fact that Krischan was unable to catch the killer two decades prior still haunts him to this very day, but perhaps with the help of ambitious young officer David, this time he will find a way to bring closure to the case. Later, as the investigation begins and a sweltering summer heat wave washes over the town, the young victim's parents begin to experience an overwhelming sense of dread concerning a clean cut husband and father who had recently visited their home.This slow-paced thriller is stunning by all means. The characterization is very well done and cinematography is amazing showing the semi-rural countryside of Germany, the camera angles are fantastic explaining many things about the characters.The narration is amazing because it has so many ends to tie and agony of the characters has been portrayed impeccably. The direction is watertight; everything is well placed and told significantly.An original thriller from Swiss born Baran bo Odar, kudos to him.Recommended to quality cinema lovers.8/10