Hearing

On silence, noise and the things we (do not) tell each other.

Ninh’s job is to install decibel meters: sensors that register sound levels and send out a warning when they are too high.

His days are filled with yearning. He lives with his mother, who is separated from his father and no longer speaks to him. As he hopes they will find their way back to each other, he is also struggling with his relationship with his ex-wife Ngoc, the mother of the two young children he loves dearly.

As Ninh installs the meters in noisy bars and private homes, he witnesses how silence swallows people and relationships. How can he stop the same thing from happening to him?

After his debut feature Taste and the short film Scent, Lê Bảo has established himself as a director with a clear interest in human perception. Here, sound and communication take centre stage. With its carefully composed tableaux and hints of mystery, Hearing is a beautiful, wistful portrayal of what remains unsaid.