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Silk

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Silk (2007)

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Reviews Counted:55

Fresh:4

Rotten:51

Average Rating:3.8/10

Consensus: Silk contains a simple love triangle story but director Francois Gerard goes to painstaking lengths to turn it into a protracted and wearisome art film.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sexuality and nudity.

Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Sep 14, 2007 Limited

Box Office: $990,439

Synopsis: With SILK, director François Gerard (THIRTY TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD, THE RED VIOLIN) brings Alessandro Baricco's bestselling novel to sumptuous life. Michael Pitt stars as Herve Joncour,... With SILK, director François Gerard (THIRTY TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD, THE RED VIOLIN) brings Alessandro Baricco's bestselling novel to sumptuous life. Michael Pitt stars as Herve Joncour, a Frenchman who lives in a small town that has hit hard times. A local silkworm magnate (Alfred Molina) stumbles upon a solution for his town's troubles, and enlists Herve to travel to a hidden corner of Japan in order to smuggle back a boundless supply of rare silkworms. Traveling in disguise so that he won't be exposed, Herve succeeds in his mission. Upon returning home, he reunites with his beautiful, supportive wife, Helene (Keira Knightley). While Herve and Helene have a loving relationship, their inability to produce a child creates an undercurrent of distance between them. This is compounded when Herve meets a beautiful concubine (Sei Ashina) during one of his subsequent journeys, sparking a passionate encounter that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Gerard's adaptation of Baricco's novel spans several continents and many years. The production is aided by the lush imagery of cinematographer Alain Dostie and the haunting score from acclaimed composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (THE LAST EMPEROR). Featuring yet another standout performance from Molina, SILK tells an epic tale of love and loss in the 19th century. [More]

Starring: Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Koji Yakusho, Alfred Molina

Starring: Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Koji Yakusho, Alfred Molina, Sei Ashina

Director: Francois Gerard

Director: Francois Gerard
Screenwriter: Francois Girard, Michael Golding
Producer: Niv Fichman, Nadine Luque, Domenico Procacci, Sonoko Sakai
Composer: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Studio: Picturehouse

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Release:

Feb 26, 2008

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Reviews for Silk

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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It is worse than a straightforward bad film, it is a middling, stagnant film that could have been extraordinary.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
Christianity Today

i sta narkotika tha se riksei, i stin katatonia, an kaneis to lathos na tin pareis sta sobara os otidipote allo para eykairia eksaskisis ton kanibalistikon soy enstikton

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
01/14/08
Joseph Proimakis
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

A flat story, lean characters and a miscast lead make this a poor facsimile of period epics like Farewell My Concubine.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/23/07
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine

Tremulous eroticism a-go-go, but it's all completely lifeless.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
11/09/07
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Dralon is more like it.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
11/09/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

THE new Keira Knightley film is a visual delight. Unfortunately, the dialogue is far from delightful.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
11/09/07
Sun Online

Crashing bore of a movie.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
11/09/07
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]

A problematic period movie, Silk is anything but finely spun. Unaided by lacklusture performances from the leads, director Francois Girard seems more interested in crafting a beautiful travelogue than he does a moving melodrama.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/09/07
James Mottram
James Mottram
Channel 4 Film

Francois Girard's film proves a cross-cultural yawn, as if taking its cue from Pitt's blank-faced blandness and Keira Knightley's anaemic support.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
11/09/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC

Sluggish storytelling enlivens neither Pitt’s infatuation with a local concubine nor the stubbornly feudal society it’s set against. Worst of all, though, you just never give a toss.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
11/09/07
Matt Mueller
Matt Mueller
Total Film

Gorgeous to look at but ultimately disappointing, Silk is let down by stilted direction, an extremely dull script and a badly miscast Michael Pitt.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
11/08/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Dull period drama goes for sensuality over story.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
10/22/07
S. Jhoanna Robledo
S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media

The movie is at its best as a collage of environments representing states of mind.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
10/17/07
Beverly Berning
Beverly Berning
culturevulture.net
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
09/29/07
Screen International

It is interesting and not riveting, lovely and not luxurious, good and not great. Some may even find it boring. It certainly is repetitive.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
09/28/07
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

François Girard's Silk is not merely painterly. It might as well be a painting, for all that it eschews storytelling, forcing the viewer to scan the lush imagery in search of clues to what, if anything, might be going on.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
09/28/07
Susan Walker
Susan Walker
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though elegantly staged, Silk is badly written and indifferently cast.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
09/28/07
Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sensual but profoundly silly, Silk is ultimately little more than softcore porn with arthouse trappings, a moony, dopily romantic Red Shoe Diaries variation for the NPR set.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/22/07
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin
AV Club

While the locations are stunning and the cinematography (by Alain Dostie) frequently pulls off compositions of breathtaking beauty, the flimsy emotional journey left me bored and frustrated -- never a good combination.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
09/22/07
Toddy Burton
Toddy Burton
Austin Chronicle

Silk isn't just bad. It's utterly mad.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
09/18/07
Julia Wallace
Julia Wallace
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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Latest News for Silk

September 11, 2007: Silk preview & trailer Opens in new window
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August 23, 2007: It's hard to imagine Brit beauty Knightley playing the long-suffering wife of an adulterous spouse who'd look at another woman - even if he's got a thing for a seductive geisha in faraway Japan, who happens to be the personal property of a powerful baron. Opens in new window
More...

August 22, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

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