SPEECHLESS • NO DIALOGUE • PANTOMIME • KINESICS
(REGION/NARRATIVE FREE CINEMA)
NO MUSICAL SCORE
NO PEOPLE
NO MEN
NO WOMEN
OKAY...FINE...ONE PERSON
ANIMALS ARE PEOPLE TOO
the antithesis of this list, a collection of films with LOTS OF DIALOGUE where people DO talk a lot.
sick of speech AND sick of people? letterboxd.com/9413/list/no-people/
letterboxd.com/films/language/no-spoken-language/
Don Juan (1926) was the first ever feature-length film to be released with a prerecorded soundtrack (no dialogue, but synchronized music and sound effects) and The Jazz Singer (1927) was the first ever feature-length film to be released with synchronized recorded dialogue. Recommendations of films choosing to forgo and avoid dialogue after 1927 are welcome.
pantomime (n.) 1610s, "mime actor," from Latin pantomimus "mime, dancer," from…
SPEECHLESS • NO DIALOGUE • PANTOMIME • KINESICS
(REGION/NARRATIVE FREE CINEMA)
NO MUSICAL SCORE
NO PEOPLE
NO MEN
NO WOMEN
OKAY...FINE...ONE PERSON
ANIMALS ARE PEOPLE TOO
the antithesis of this list, a collection of films with LOTS OF DIALOGUE where people DO talk a lot.
sick of speech AND sick of people? letterboxd.com/9413/list/no-people/
letterboxd.com/films/language/no-spoken-language/
Don Juan (1926) was the first ever feature-length film to be released with a prerecorded soundtrack (no dialogue, but synchronized music and sound effects) and The Jazz Singer (1927) was the first ever feature-length film to be released with synchronized recorded dialogue. Recommendations of films choosing to forgo and avoid dialogue after 1927 are welcome.
pantomime (n.) 1610s, "mime actor," from Latin pantomimus "mime, dancer," from Greek pantomimos "actor," literally "imitator of all," from panto- (genitive of pan) "all" (see pan-) + mimos "imitator" (see mime (n.)). Meaning "drama or play without words" first recorded 1735. The English dramatic performances so called, usually at Christmas and with words and songs and stock characters, are attested by this name from 1739; said to have originated c. 1717. Related: Pantomimic; pantomimical.
That which, within our present-day music, most nearly approaches the essential of the art, is the Rest and the Hold (Pause). Consummate players, improvisers, know how to employ these instruments of expression in loftier and ampler measure. The tense silence between two movements—in itself music, in this environment—leaves wider scope for divination than the more determinate, but therefore less elastic, sound.--- Sketch of a New Esthetic of Music, Ferruccio Busoni
"Why do we feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?...That's when you know you found somebody special. When you can just shut the fuck up for a minute, and comfortably share silence."
and from Babak Tabarraee's thesis SILENCE STUDIES IN THE CINEMA AND THE CASE OF ABBAS KIAROSTAMI:
Merriam-Webster online dictionary gives four categories of meaning for silence: 1) muteness:
forbearance from speech or noise; 2) stillness: absence of sound or noise; 3) oblivion or obscurity, in the form of absence of mention; and 4) secrecy, again in the form of absence of
mention (“Silence” in Merriam-webster.com). Correspondingly, the Iranian dictionary of Dehkhoda gives these two definitions for the Farsi “ وت ” (sokout): 1) darkness [the same word
for turning off the lights]; and 2) being able to speak but refraining from it (“ وت ” in
loghatnaameh.org). One commonality in all these six definitions in two different cultures is the
emphasis put on the ‘intentionality’ of the noun silence or sokout - something that changes a
little in the verb form of the word (See Table 1).
Table 1. The Intentionality of Silence
muteness (forbearance) stillness oblivion/obscurity secrecy darkness refraining from speaking
Intentional X X X X X X
Unintentional - X X - X -
17
Another common aspect in these meanings is that they imply something more than a mere
absence of words or even sounds. Trying to clarify the semantic field of silence, Wlodzimierz
Sobkowiak suggests: “silence appears to be a linguistically non-autonomous concept par
excellence: it is best defined acoustically and/or pragmatically” (43). He then goes on to classify
the five definitions of silence in the Webster Collegiate into these two rubrics:
1. The state or fact of keeping silent; a refraining from speech or from making noise
(pragmatic/acoustic),
2. Absence of any sound or noise; stillness (acoustic),
3. A withholding of knowledge or omission of mention (pragmatic),
4. Failure to communicate, write, keep in touch, etc. (pragmatic),
5. Oblivion or obscurity (pragmatic).
(Sobkowiak 43)
An early conclusion from these findings can be the inter-linked relation of the operational fields
of silence. In other words, any acoustic silence is pragmatic too, but only some pragmatic forms
of silence (the first and second items from Sobkowiak’s chart) are also acoustic. I will come back
later to both the intentional and pragmatic nature of silence, and use them for my own analysis of the cinema of Abbas Kiarostami. But before moving to more linguistic approaches, let us take a brief but useful look at some roots and connotations of silence in language. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, Silence is derived from the Latin “silentium ‘a being silent,’ from
silens, [past participle] of silere ‘be quiet or still,’ of unknown origin” (Silence in etymonline.com). It seems that throughout the history, other than the usual association with a lack of, or a refraining from producing, sounds, silence has also attained a semi-holy status: The old Zoroastrians in ancient Iran had a practical use for their ‘Tower of Silence’ (see the picture
on the first page of this chapter): an open-topped tower where they left their dead for both a gradual decay by the weather and a faster annihilation by necrophagous animals (Bahar 486,
“Dakhma” in britannica.com). The Quakers have a few minutes to an hour of “holy silence” in their waiting worship for the Holy Spirit to speak through one of the “friends” (“Silence in
Quaker Tradition” in hermitary.com). And even more recently, the Roman Catholic Association of Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, founded in 1949, who believe in “Holy Silence” as “the Secret of
the Saints” and an inevitable part of spirituality, hold that, “Silence is the fifth of the seven character traits in the Work of the Holy Angels” (“Opus Sanctorum Angelorum” in
opusangelorum.org). Once again, silence equals the impossible and the ultimate: death, God, and transcendental metaphysics. This is an association not exclusive to the ancient religions and
modern cults, but also prevalent in the contemporary spirituality of the believers. Mother Teresa of Calcutta has been quoted to say:
"We need to find God and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the
friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the
stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… we need silence to be able to
touch souls."
according to LB "There are 9,783 films with no spoken dialog." letterboxd.com/films/language/no-spoken-language/
