SILENCE OF LOVE is a film born out of the music of Tarentella, folk songs from southern Italy, whose origins get lost in the mists of time. This music is reputed to have magical powers, particularly to cure ailments, heartache, melancholy and madness provoked by the bite of a spider. The songs can be very lively and upbeat or extremely melancholic and lilting. I enjoyed dreaming up the life of a professor of Italian origin, who teaches the history of this music in Strasbourg, and whose life is marked by the death of his wife, Louise, fifteen years earlier. To a certain extent, he is still haunted by his lost love. It seems incurable. Yet he's not a sad, withdrawn or depressive man, quite the contrary. He lives with his teenage daughter, who never really knew her mother, and his wacky, eccentric and endearing older brother, Crampone, who lives the life of a baroque anti-Berlusconi émigré. Alessandro has friends and is a cheery kind of guy, but subconsciously he won't allow himself to fall in love again. He doesn't see women as potential partners. He only worries about his daughter and his over-protectiveness stifles her somewhat.

Although the story was born out of music, or rather the effect it had on me, I wanted to explore different kinds of music in this story, particularly the music of language. Alessandro and his brother are Italians who have settled in France, but the film also features a German, a Portuguese, a young Dutchwoman, another from Lithuania, and other minor characters of Spanish or North Africa origin. I like showing that the melody of all these accents makes up the French of today and that the interaction of all these people from different horizons testifies to our contemporary culture. I wanted to consider who we are and why we choose to live in one place or another.

The choice of Strasbourg as the location for this story was dictated not just by the different nationalities of its inhabitants - I am always struck by the mix of languages and accents one hears in its streets - but also by the fact that the city, which to my mind is underused by modern French cinema, offers a rich array of characterful settings. I am very attached to provincial life, especially in eastern France, my home region, and I enjoy rooting my novels or films in real places (Nancy for my previous film, Strasbourg for this one), which allow me to focus on the type of human relationships that one can have in the provinces and that are, to my eyes, very different than those one finds in a city like Paris. I would add that the area around Strasbourg — the vineyards of Alsace and the nearby Vosges mountains — was also an important consideration, since certain scenes enable us to discover these landscapes.

After a film like Il y a longtemps que je t’aime / I’ve Love You So Long, which explored the pain and trauma of a woman, then her rebirth, I wanted to take a different angle on life, less tragic, much more lighthearted and funny, and tell a story that contains different levels of comedy, as well as more emotional and serious aspects. SILENCE OF LOVE is in the vein of French films driven by the depiction of characters and the observation of their relationships, pleasures and pains, by directors such as Claude Sautet, whom I greatly admire, and in the vein of Italian films, such as the comedies of the 60s and 70s that so artfully blended comedy verging on farce with high emotion.

Through the tone of the writing and direction, and the choice of actors and locations, I hope to be able to give the audience enjoyment and something to think about, pleasure and profundity that the different nuances of the tarentella will emphasize. I also hope to make a modest contribution to reviving the tradition, which has been slightly lost, that saw actors from Italy and other countries perform in French films. My intention is to offer — through a story about people everybody can identify with — an artistic illustration of this European entity that we talk so much about, but perhaps don't fully explore.

Philippe Claudel

“A multicultural comedy with anti-Berlusconian accents”
Madame Figaro

“SILENCE OF LOVE is a bighearted film that makes you happy.”
“A beautiful tribute to Italian comedy”
Version Femina

“A superb juxtaposition of romantic comedy and metaphysical drama”
L'Express Styles

“A film filled with a light, grace and tenderness that is touching”
Le Figaro Magazine

“A warmhearted film with an Italian accent”
Journal du Dimanche

“Stefano Accorsi has style”
Elle

“Sharp dialogue, wacky but realistic situations and acting right on key.”
“This comedy about love, friendship and death really leaves you feeling happy.”
Le Parisien

“A rich and bighearted comedy”
“An ode to life, love and friendship”
La Croix

“A sentimental escape, lighthearted, tender and fresh”
“SILENCE OF LOVE will enchant your eyes as well as your heart.”
Le Figaro

“A pleasant feel-good movie”
Télérama

“Funny, endearing..."
Le Vif Focus (Belgium)

“A charming and poignant comedy”
La Libre Belgique (Belgium)