The Silent Girl is a movie about quiet little moments, a thoughtful, sweet, sometimes sad little number that doesn’t have great ambitions. It just wants to be human and humane and humble.

It’s about a quiet Irish girl who is handed over to childless relatives when her mother gets pregnant with yet another child. No drama… just a simple hand-off and how the aunt and uncle relate to the child.

I thought this film would be about an orphan girl handed over to relatives… that it’d be the saddest tear jerker that ever jerked a tear. But no, it does have somber moments but the whole film has more of a quiet, wistful, gentle tone. It rarely states a thesis or makes a big announcement. It’s just a film about moments.

I wasn’t blown away, I wasn’t thrilled… but I was gently reminded that not every film has to be grandiose or operatic. This is a sweet, slow-paced film about simple human lives and and we express affection in the most casual ways. It’s sweet. It’s lyrical. It’s beautiful.

Score: 82