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Ibiza. The ultimate paradise for everyone who wants to escape their daily lives by partying, drinking and having a great time. The cocktails in every colour of the rainbow, the dreamy beach, the heating sun, and the pumping beats will make you forget your ordinary world for a while. But is Ibiza indeed the Walhalla for the party people and luxury holiday seekers? Well, director Julien Temple (“My Life Story”, “Depeche Mode: Video Singles Collection”) tries to give you an answer to that question. Sadly, “Ibiza: The Silent Movie” provides you with more questions than answers and gives you a hangover feeling at the same time.

Welcome to Ibiza!

Sunny beaches, ecstatic people dressed in fewer clothes as possible, luxury yachts and private planes. This might be the most common idea of Ibiza. It seems that according to the beginning of this film, that idea is just pure reality. However, it doesn’t take long before Temple will try to convince us otherwise. Everything you know about Ibiza might not be so true at all and “Ibiza: The Silent Movie” will prove that to you. Opening with the start of Ibiza after continents Africa and Europe came together to the first inhabitants called the Phoenicians. They named the island after their God of the dance, Bes (English translation: Ibiza).

The first few minutes of this movie cover thousands of years of “history” and it gives you a pretty good idea of how this film will develop. Divided into different smaller chapters, each about a unique topic. Every chapter is filled with (fake) historic facts, old footage and more recent videos about the party people of Ibiza. Just like the pictures used in this film, the chapters are immensely diverse: From the possibility of a UFO on Ibiza, to the World War Two, to the Spanish Civil War and to the rise of the vibrant clubs. While watching “Ibiza: The Silent Movie”, you’ll get to see Ibiza in its entire form. Now you just have to find out what’s real and what’s not.

Real or not real? That’s the question

That “real or fake” element is what makes from “Ibiza: The Silent Movie” both an interesting as well as an immensely complicated film. Because of the fact it doesn’t matter what happened and what did not (it’s for the audience to figure this out after all), it feels like director Temple and his team just threw everything together what they could find or create about Ibiza. Images, videos and (fake) historic facts, it’s all there. There might be some storyline (due to the usage of time indications) in “Ibiza: The Silent Movie” but the film often feels like an extremely long music video. This is not unexpected as Temple is known for his music video for bands such as Babyshambles, Scissor Sisters, and Blur. However, this time it’s a video that consists of incoherent and randomly chosen footage.

A silent movie? Don’t think so

With “Ibiza: The Silent Movie”, the filmmakers want to go back to the roots of film by using almost no spoken words (apart from the very brief interviews with the residents). Sadly, that homage is being washed away by the Mediterranean Sea. The written words, which have to replace the spoken ones, don’t make sense at all and the usage of modern emotions is just totally out of place and incredibly unnecessary.

Perfect but predictable soundtrack

You might start to wonder if “Ibiza: The Silent Movie” has nothing good to offer. No worries, it has. The music is the most positive element from this movie. Ok yes, surely some might say that the soundtrack is predictable but hey, the makers just want to use the most famous, fitting and upbeat songs that you can hear during every party in Ibiza. Whether it’s dance music, pop, house or techno. Honestly, it’s a big relief to hear other music once in a while as well in this movie such as rock, blues, and hip-hop. If you just listen to this film without watching it, you can have an amazing party on your own. Just grab a beer, put your headphones and you’re ready to go!

A trip to Ibiza we want to relive?

“Whoah! We’re going to Ibiza. Whoah! Back to the island. Whoah! We’re gonna have a party”. Seems Vengaboys were always up for a holiday in Ibiza. Not sure if we are tough. If we would decide to go back to pleasure island, then we hope that we’re going to have a better time than we had while watching this film. “Ibiza: The Silent Movie” might not have been our taste but if you want to see an eclectic film with loads of sunshine, upbeat music, and beautiful people, then this is a stunning movie for you.

Rating: (2.5 / 5)

Ibiza – The Silent Movie (Official Trailer)

“Ibiza: The Silent Movie” is available on BBC iPlayer until the 1st September 2019.

Also Read: Review: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Warning – Spoilers for Kill Bill Vol 2, Baby Driver, Royal Tennenbaums, No Country For Old Men, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

Also note – One of the scenes deals with suicide.

2001: A Space Odyssey famously has nearly fifty minutes with no dialogue at the start, with the monkeys’ evolution and the end, with Dave’s evolution. Few filmmakers are that brave or talented to pull that off but a lot have had a go on a smaller scale, here are some of the best scenes with no dialogue (or nearly no dialogue).

Kill Bill Vol 2 – Coffin Scene

Kill Bill Vol.2 – Buried Alive Scene

This scene starts with the Bride buried in a coffin by one of the men she went to kill, and after watching a scene of her being trained by martial arts master Pei May we see her attempt to escape from this seemingly fatal trap.

The Bride calms herself and slowly sets about her escape. She cuts her ropes and does what should be impossible and punches her way out of a coffin. If it had not been for the previous scene in which she was trained to punch through solid wood at a short distance I would have hated this scene but we know this is possible for her, it obeys the logic of its own world. The Bride’s resilience even as her knuckles bleed and dirt starts pouring into the coffin is amazing.

Music – L’Arena by Ennio Morricone.

Only dialogue -“Come on, you bitch” & “Okay Pai Mei, here I come”

Baby Driver – Opening Chase Scene

Baby Driver – Opening Clip

This is six minutes with arguably no dialogue whatsoever that transfers from a perfect lip-synch sing-along of the music Baby is listening to what for me is the most impressive car chase ever filmed. The best part of the whole scene is not the seemingly impossible stunts but the look on Jon Bernthal’s face when he gets in the car, points forward and the car takes off in reverse. This whole article could be about how Edgar Wright brilliantly uses music in this film with at times it is almost a musical but this one scene sums all of his techniques very well.

Music – Bell Bottoms by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Dialogue – Jon Bernthal repeating “whoa” and you overhear “a red Subaru” on a police radio

Royal Tennenbaums – Attempted Suicide

Royal Tennenbaums – Attempted Suicide Scene

In Luke Wilson’s best role as Ritchie Tennenbaum, he plays a man trapped in the past, stuck in a look he has had for decades and after receiving some news about the woman he loves he has a breakdown. Before actually attempting suicide Ritchie drastically changes how he looks, cutting off his long hair and beard, removing the sports clothing he wore when he was a professional athlete. The scene shows his discovery by Dudley, his arrival at the hospital and his various family members rushing to his side.

Music – Needle in the Hay by Elliott Smith – the scene becomes even more tragic when you know that Elliott took his own life just a few years after this film was released.

Dialogue – “I’m going to kill myself tomorrow” & “Dudley, where is he?” “Who?”

The Big Lebowski – Dream Sequence

One of my all-time favourite scenes, an extravagant over the top dream sequence of what would possibly be the most ambitious pornography ever made. The Coen Brothers bring a fantastic eye for perfect costumes, precision movement and stunning cinematography. You can see the love of musicals that they expanded on in Hail Caesar!

Of course, then it turns into an absolutely horrific nightmare version of what the gang of nihilists threatened to do to him.

Music: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) by Kenny Rogers

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night – Playing Record Scene

Quite simply A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is the best Persian-language vampire western you’re ever going to see. The story of the music-loving vampire as she deals with life in a wretched ghost-town is brilliantly told and this scene is particularly memorable. Not only is nothing at all said very little actually happens but the scene is mesmerising. It plays with the old idea of a vampire giving in to their desires and you can’t be sure whether the vampire will rip out the man’s throat or kiss him and there is genuine tension.

Music: Death by White Lies

Note: Even though the man is wearing a Dracula-like cape the woman is the vampire.

No Country For Old Men – Hotel Confrontation

This film has a number of scenes of unbelievable tension and one of them is Josh Brolin slowly waiting for his attacker in his hotel room. The attacker, Chigurh, is only glimpsed for most of the scene and at times is almost an invisible attacker.

Music – None – this is the only scene I selected in which there is no music that helps cover up the silence. We hear breathing, footsteps, gunshots, glass shattering and cars braking but that’s about it.

Note – The Coens Brothers second appearance on this list is a good demonstration of the scope of their work, one film a stoner comedy come noir detective story and an incredibly tense thriller. Is there anything they can’t do?

Dialogue – “Don’t worry I ain’t gonna hurt you, I just need you to drive me” right before the guy dies.

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