Silence, Please. Or Else.

(click image for movie trailer)

"Tim Robbins Wages Crusade Against Noise In New Film" shouts the Reuters headline. Robbins' character can't get the peace and quiet he expects in New York City, so he becomes an anti-noise vigilante.

Director Henry Bean is himself a serial victim of city sounds:

Despite his own personal battle against car alarms, which according to Bean "should be totally illegal", the director said his film was, above all, about the disconnect that he feels exists between those in power and their citizens.

"For me, noise becomes a metaphor for power. The noise that I have to listen to, that I have no control over, that invades my house, my ears, my thoughts… in a way that's how our governments are," he said.

"We live in a world where the governments are extremely unresponsive to what the citizens want."

Brilliant! The solution to metaphoric invasive government is real invasive government. All they need is more power. Never mind less peaceful solutions like, say, moving to the suburbs or just dealing with it.

When the new War on Noise leads to New York City cops busting kids for screaming in the playground, hopefully Mr. Bean will be there to capture responsive government on film.