SILENT ROSE is a Story of Typical Teens in Politicized Times
Filmed mostly in black and white, documentary style, SILENT ROSE film takes its name from White Rose, the name of the non-violent student group at the University of Munich, during WWII that printed anti-Nazi pamphlets calling for the German people to rise up against the Third Reich. It’s core members were captured 1942 and guillotined after a show trial in 1943.
The three principal students include Shatira, who likes to take photographs. She doesn’t know how it will fit into her future and can’t put into words why she enjoys photography so much. The other two student characters are Diego and Marquel, who skateboard together. Diego is more into girls and tries to offer Marquel advice on dating Shatira.
Apart from the day to day lives of the students, the high school is preparing for high stakes testing and the Principal admonishes the staff in a meeting to prepare for the test. Teachers on a break explain to Miss Karen that last year it took them six-weeks of teaching to prepare for the testing while welcoming NEW STUDENTS into their school.
Into this pressure cooker of adolescence strains happening in a school with unresolved racial tensions an incident occurs that requires a lockdown.
It’s not a drill.
The students sequester against the walls waiting for the all clear.
A perfect storm ensues.
SILENT ROSE is good story telling and goes beyond being a documentary. PTP recommends SILENT ROSE for movie goers that enjoy coming-of-age films, independent films, and documentaries. While SILENT ROSE is a serious film it is not somber and SPOILER ALERT, ends on a hopeful note. Viewers will find it engaging and heartfelt as it examines pressing topics of our time.
