Although the film ultimately achieves its function to expose deep-rooted and far-reaching social injustice,its visceral representation of harrowing and morally repugnant scenes remains unnerving and questionable.

The good that "Silenced" has done certainly outweighs its flaws, but there are certainly some of those: character and plot tropes that pad out the story but have little to do with it.

Based on Gong Ji-young's 2009 novel, "Silenced" is a brutal look at the systematic torture of children at a facility for the hearing impaired.

Unsettlingly graphic but important expos of the abuse of hearing-impaired children in Korea stirs the emotions in the most elemental way.