Program Note
In the small town of Kikuno, a beloved girl named Saori goes missing, only to return three years later as a burned corpse. The prime suspect is Hasunuma, a repulsive thug who had once been the leading suspect in a similar case involving a young girl 15 years prior. Back then, he was released after stubbornly exercising his right to remain silent. On the day of Kikuno’s autumn festival parade, Hasunuma is found dead. Physicist Yukawa begins investigating the mystery behind Hasunuma’s death by asphyxiation, while also reexamining the truth behind Saori’s case.
Silent Parade is built on the ’silence’ of ordinary people who resort to private justice when the law fails to deliver it. As Yukawa states, “Tears are blood with the hemoglobin filtered out,” meaning “tears and blood are, in essence, the same.” The blood of the girl who died unjustly is resurrected in the form of tears of rage shed by those who loved her. And those who clung to their own versions of justice find themselves trapped in their own personal hells. Salvation seems distant—but even so, someone must eventually break the silence. (KIM Yong-eon)