Beyond Silence is a film about a deaf university student, Eva (Henrianne Jansen), who was raped by her univerity professor. With the help of her sister, Anna (Sigrid ten Napel) to translate for her, she approaches university adviser Sandrine (Tamar van den Dop) with the intent of reporting it. What follows is a tense 17 minutes in Sandrine’s office as Eva recounts her experiences, struggling to come to terms with the events even as the adviser retreats into silence, no longer able to turn a blind eye.
Eva’s voiceless frustration is a powerful, evocative performance from debutant Henrianne Jansen and it’s hard to believe that this is her first performance. In preparation for the role, rather than ‘teach’ Jansen how to act, Blok would apparently take Jansen boxing before script readthroughs to exhaust her and to help perfect the physicality of the character. This technique worked in enabling Jansen to embody Eva wholeheartedly, and aided Blok’s slow-build, pressure-cooker approach to a narrative that feels primed to boil over at any second.
It’s an Oscar worthy performance from Jansen and a testament to the directing prowess of Blok, herself a rape survivor. Through her writing, we feel every excruciating detail of Eva’s ordeal as it’s recounted; in these moments, we realise we’re witnessing something deeply personal.
Beyond Silence wastes not a single second, and promises to stay with you long after its closing credits.
The film is out now on MUBI.
words Jake Munn
