A Silence

A Silence (Un silence) is a 2023 drama film directed by Joachim Lafosse. The film stars Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Devos. It premiered on 25 September 2023 at the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival. It was released in France on 10 January 2024. The film is based on the real case of disgraced Belgian lawyer Victor Hissel.

Premise
"Having remained silent for 25 years, Astrid, the wife of a prominent lawyer, sees her family's equilibrium shatter when her children initiate their quest for justice."

Production
The screenplay was written chiefly by Lafosse with Thomas Van Zuylen. Chloé Duponchelle and Paul Ismaël served as co-writers. Sarah Chiche, Matthieu Reynaert, and Valérie Graeven are credited as writing collaborators.

A Silence is a co-production between Stenola Productions (Belgium), Samsa Film (Luxembourg), Les Films du losange (France) and Prime Time (Belgium). It was co-produced by RTBF, Proximus, VOO, BE TV and France 3 Cinéma.

Release
A Silence was selected to compete for the Golden Shell at the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival, where the film had its world premiere on 25 September 2023.

World sales are handled by Les Films du losange, which also distributed the film in France on 10 January 2024. Samsa Film distributed the film in Luxembourg on 17 January 2024. Cinéart is set to theatrically release the film in Belgium on 24 January 2024.

Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. A Silence received an average rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 28 reviews.

Guy Lodge of Variety wrote that "there is a gasping power to its staggered reveals, and a searching sadness to the emerging family portrait that outweighs the film's shock factor."