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      The Silent Army

      2008 1h 55m Drama List
      Reviews 58% Fewer than 50 Ratings Audience Score A man living in an African town walks into a camp where children are trained as soldiers. Read More Read Less

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      The Silent Army

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      Critics Reviews

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      Boyd van Hoeij Variety Scribe-helmer Jean van de Velde puts his considerable filmmaking talent at the mercy of a screenplay riddled with cliches and improbabilities. Oct 3, 2009 Full Review David Aldridge Radio Times The movie is competently made, but the decent and disturbing build-up is marred by a melodramatic climax. A pity. Rated: 2/5 Nov 18, 2010 Full Review Jennie Kermode Eye for Film Rated: 3.5/5 Feb 5, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Has the feel of more of a documentary than a film with a one man army discovering the shocking corruption formed when local children are kidnapped and trained to be killing machines. All seems a relatively normal life for our Dutch couple running a restaurant in Africa, but in the space of a year, a husband loses his wife, with the best friend of their son also being kidnapped by mercenary foot soldiers. Pressured by his child to do something about it, our hero goes in search of the hiding place of this silent army, despite pleas to not go alone. After avoiding several attacks and witnessing the tragic deaths of many children, he finds the boy he is looking for, only to realise his mind has been warped by his new 'daddy'. Emphasising the message of equality and diversity in society, there are several digs at what black people must do to survive, and that one white death is as bigger loss as 1000 black men's. This is more thought provoking than entertaining as as much as we hate to think it, this sort of event has occurred and will continue to occur in certain parts of the world. From a cinematic perspective, I was disappointed that the ending seemed very sudden and we didn't really establish what became of the main characters, but in essence this wasn't really produced for the sole purpose of enjoyment, so in respect to the viewpoint it put across, it did it's job. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member With a challenging subject, The Silent Army explores violence in Africa with irrationality, eventually rewarded by a fair resolution and redemption. Courteous, but cruel, The Silent Army embraces racial and cultural differences with conviction that is bound to evoke a heightened sense of responsibility that persuades for the best in its audiences. Effective. Compelling. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Silent Army

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis A man living in an African town walks into a camp where children are trained as soldiers.
      Director
      Jean van de Velde
      Screenwriter
      Jean van de Velde
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Dutch
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jan 8, 2017
      Runtime
      1h 55m
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