A flat story, lean characters and a miscast lead make this a poor facsimile of period epics like Farewell My Concubine.
Silk (2007)
Rated: 15
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
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, a Frenchman who lives in a small town that has hit hard times. A local silkworm magnate... 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]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Koji Yakusho, Alfred Molina, Sei Ashina
Screenwriter: Francois Girard, Michael Golding
Producer: Niv Fichman, Nadine Luque, Domenico Procacci, Sonoko Sakai
Composer: Ryuichi Sakamoto
DVD Info
Release:
Feb 2, 2010
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
- Dolby Surround 5.1 EX - English
- Dolby Surround 2.0 - English
- Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
Reviews
THE new Keira Knightley film is a visual delight. Unfortunately, the dialogue is far from delightful.
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.
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.
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.
Gorgeous to look at but ultimately disappointing, Silk is let down by stilted direction, an extremely dull script and a badly miscast Michael Pitt.
It is worse than a straightforward bad film, it is a middling, stagnant film that could have been extraordinary.
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
The movie is at its best as a collage of environments representing states of mind.
It is interesting and not riveting, lovely and not luxurious, good and not great. Some may even find it boring. It certainly is repetitive.
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.
Though elegantly staged, Silk is badly written and indifferently cast.
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.
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.
The lack of overt instances of exposition consequently ensures that one's enjoyment of the movie is directly related to one's familiarity with Baricco's book...

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