(West Liang, Amy Tsang, Max Faugno, et al / DVD / NR / 2022 / The Film Detective)

Overview: With a surreal filmmaking style inspired by the neo-noir work of David Lynch, Silent River is the third feature film release from writer/director Chris Chan Lee, who made his directorial debut in 1997 with the award-winning, critically acclaimed film, Yellow, a coming-of-age drama/comedy about a group of Asian-American teens in Los Angeles.

Yellow featured the theatrical film acting debuts of John Cho (the Star Trek and Harold & Kumar film franchises) and Jason Tobin (Warrior, Jasmine, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift).

Lee followed with producing the thriller, Jasmine, which won 100 awards in international film festival competitions.

Elliot (West Liang, FBI: Most Wanted, Atypical, Rebel) is desperate to reconcile with his estranged wife, Julie (Amy Tsang, Love Shot, Kung Fu). Determined, he drives across a barren desert road to reach her, hoping he can convince her to give him a second chance.

Stopping at a roadside motel, he reaches out to a surprised Julie, who informs him she has moved on. At a loss for his next move, Elliot falls into a downward spiral and, when he encounters the sultry Greta (Tsang in a dual role)—an uncanny woman on the run from a mysterious past—strange and mysterious occurrences begin to haunt him.

As the shadowy line between reality and dark fantasy becomes increasingly blurred, Elliot questions his own sanity and seeks the truth ... but will he regret finding the answer?

DVD Verdict: In what is a most incredible visual, and storytelling experience, Silent River is unashamedly unapologetic with its whole show, not tell cinematic philosophy; so much so that it would make even the great David Lynch blush!

And trust me when I say that this is a mighty good thing, for Silent River does not hold your hand, guiding (dragging) you throughout, no, it allows you to wander freely through its given points of visual interest.

For right from the off it immediately thrusts you into Elliot’s topsy-turvy world. From the very beginning, and until the very end, Silent River captivates you with its stunning cinematography, superb acting, and cerebral story; and never once takes the story line, or the viewer for granted.

Furthermore, Silent River is a film that keeps the viewer constantly wondering (in a good way) and mentally stimulated with its clever use of different film genres amidst themes of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.

Indeed, and because of that filmed philosophy, some parts may come across a little disjointed, out of place, random even, but trust me they are never that; and they never detract from the ethereal beauty and power of the film anyway, of course.

This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.

Lee was a member of the “Class of 1997” and in that year, the entertainment industry — as noted in the book Rise: A Pop History of Asian Americans from the Nineties to Now (pages 150-151) — lauded six Asian filmmakers who were bringing the same game-changing talent and momentum to indie film that had previously announced the bomb-dropping “arrival” of noted Black filmmakers like Spike Lee and queer filmmakers like Todd Haynes, followed by others riding the wave of their successes.

The four ground-breaking films released in 1997 were Lee’s Yellow, Quentin Lee & Justin Lin’s Shopping for Fangs, Rea Tajiri’s Strawberry Fields and Michael Idemoto & Eric Nakamura’s Sunsets.

Official Trailer