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Movies / On DVD / Silk
Silk

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Silk (2007)

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Reviews Counted:10

Fresh:0

Rotten:10

Average Rating:3.2/10

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: 15 [See Full Rating] for sexuality and nudity.

Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:09-11-2007

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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Reviews for Silk

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1 - 10 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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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
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Dralon is more like it.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
11/09/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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Crashing bore of a movie.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
11/09/07
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
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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
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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
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[Director] Girard confuses pretty scenery doused in ponderous music with epic visual poetry. Impenetrable musings intended to evoke ineffable romantic longing leave you scratching your head as you wait, ever more impatiently, for something to happen.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
09/14/07
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
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[Alfred] Molina, as Baldabiou, is the only cast member who transcends the material -- as he always does -- and his scenes are considerably more invigorated than the rest of the film.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/14/07
Kevin Crust
Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times
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Silk is a languid, too languid, story of romantic regrets, mostly ours, because romance is expected to carry the film without explaining it.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
09/14/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Vacuous, arid and terminally dull.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/12/07
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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Few movies ever have gone to such a length to tell so slight -- and, worse, unengaging -- a story.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/11/07
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
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1 - 10 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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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
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