Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 08/17/2002 Summary: Excellent Breaking The Silence is one film that many people would never attempt to watch, because it’s a mainland drama, which so many can’t appreciate for some reason. Personally, I love these films, and with an excellent director like Sun Zhou and one of the best actresses Gong Li involved in this, there is only hope for the story to shine just as much. Thankfully it does, and this is a perfect example of why China has been turning out more and more of these films in the recent years, and in my mind this comes very close to another favourite film of mine (The Road Home). Without going into too many details, it is basically about a single mother trying to raise her deaf son the best way she can. She has very little money, no support from her sons father, and struggles to find work in modern day China. Everything about the film is superb, and anyone who likes dramas, especially from the mainlaind, I would highly recommend this. [4.5/5] Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: Dyogenez Date: 05/07/2002 Summary: Story of Life Sun Liying, played by Li Gong, plays a single mother dealing with supporting her young son in a very lifelike and hopeless environment. Her deaf son, Zheng Da, is dealing with this and trying to learn enough to get into school. Liying must make enough to support her young son, and pay for his new hearing aid. These are not cheap, costing over $5000, with her making only $5, and her divorced husband not helping. This film did very well at the Berlin film festival. This is really a slice of life film, going through the basic actions of one struggling mom. This is not at all the type of film I personally like. I can understand how it is appreciated by critics, but it was a little too slow for my tastes. I have never been a fan of the extreme basic, or the struggles that are present in daily life, such as getting money from ones' ex-husband. It's all too bland for my taste. That's the main theme of the story though, that there is hope, even without excitement, love money. But for me, it's 2/10.