Aleksandr Ilyin Jr
father
Overview
The little boy receives the last instruction from his mother: now he will have to take care of a deaf father who has problems with alcohol, because in fact, dad is a samurai who has made a vow of silence and needs a mentor ... When a representative of guardianship authorities comes to them, little a family of two is on the verge of separation.
Cast
Reviews
4 min readA Samurai’s Silence in a Kitchen Sink
I didn’t expect to cry over a nine-minute film about a drunk samurai and his son. But here we are. Mute is that rare short that doesn’t just sketch a mood—it carves out a whole emotional landscape in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. And yet, the TMDB score—a perfect 1.0 from a single vote—suggests I might be alone in this.
Maybe it’s the premise: a deaf father, a vow of silence, a child forced into the role of caretaker. Maybe it’s the runtime, which dares to ask for your full attention without the cushion of a feature-length narrative. Or maybe it’s the way the film refuses to soften its edges, even when the story threatens to collapse under the weight of its own bleakness.
Nikita Vlasov’s direction is unflinching, but not in the way you’d expect. There’s no violence here, no grand spectacle of suffering. Instead, the camera lingers on small, suffocating details: the way a child’s fingers tremble as he pours his father’s vodka, the way a samurai’s sword gathers dust in the corner of a cramped apartment.
The film’s power lies in its stillness. Every frame feels like a held breath, as if the characters—and the audience—are waiting for something to break. And something does.
Just not in the way you’d think.
The father, played by Aleksandr Ilyin Jr., is a man who has lost his voice in more ways than one. His deafness isn’t just physical; it’s existential. He’s a samurai who has made a vow of silence, but the film never clarifies whether this is a spiritual discipline or a surrender to despair.
(I suspect it’s both.) His son, a boy no older than ten, is left to navigate this silence, to interpret his father’s grunts and gestures, to become the adult in a household where the only other presence is a social worker who arrives like a specter of doom. The dynamic between them is heartbreaking precisely because it’s so quiet. There are no histrionics, no dramatic confrontations.
Audience Opinions
Broad evidence
Audience 5.2/10
"A visually striking but narratively confusing drama that leaves many viewers cold despite its ambitious themes."
The film’s atmospheric direction and cinematography are frequently praised, offering a moody and immersive experience. latestnetflix.com's read is that however, the slow pacing, underdeveloped plot, and lack of clear character motivations frustrate many, making it a difficult watch for those expecting a more conventional drama.
What viewers praise
- Atmospheric visuals The film’s cinematography and visual style create a compelling, moody atmosphere that many find visually engaging.
- Strong lead performance Aleksandr Ilyin Jr. delivers a nuanced and compelling performance, grounding the film’s more abstract moments.
- Ambitious themes The film’s exploration of isolation and human connection resonates with some viewers, who appreciate its depth.
Common complaints
- Confusing narrative The plot is often criticized as unclear or overly convoluted, leaving viewers struggling to follow the story.
- Slow pacing Many find the film’s pacing too slow, making it feel drawn-out and tedious at times.
- Underdeveloped characters Supporting characters lack depth, and their motivations are often unclear, weakening emotional engagement.
- Lack of payoff Some viewers feel the film’s ambiguous ending and unresolved plot threads don’t justify the investment.
Recommended for
Fans of atmospheric dramas Slow-burn indie film enthusiasts Admirers of moody cinematography Viewers who enjoy ambiguous narratives
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsThe Mute you clicked is nine minutes and Russian.
Type "Mute 2018 Netflix" and Duncan Jones wins the search. Alexander Skarsgard as a bartender who cannot speak. Paul Rudd in Berlin neon. That film landed on 23 February 2018, 126 minutes, a spiritual sequel to Moon that Rotten Tomatoes scored at 21 percent 
. In July a second Mute dated 5 July 2018 showed up in catalogs. Same English title. Nine minutes. Spoken in Russian. latestnetflix.com's read is that a little boy, a deaf father with a drinking problem, a custody inspector at the door, and a samurai vow of silence that is the child's cover story , .
TMDB files this one as movie 658554. Nikita Vlasov wrote and directed it as a student at Industry Film School in Moscow. Fyodor Bondarchuk opened that two-year shop in 2017 with producers Mikhail Vrubel and Alexander Andryuschenko. He told Kommersant they wanted specialists "for themselves," and that students would shoot shorts in teams of three during the first five months . Fifty people got in from several hundred applicants. Tuition was 300,000 rubles a year. Andryuschenko is credited as producer on this short. Filipp Frolov and Marina Voevoda share the script. Nikita Chvanov shot it .
The famous mute in the room is the dad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY2ZvgLXUFs
Aleksandr Ilyin Jr. plays the father. Russian audiences already knew him from the sitcom Interny. He later turned up in Sobibor and Petrov's Flu, and he fronts the punk band Plan of Lomonosov . Ioann Staroverov is the son who inherits the last instruction from his mother. Evgeniya Vays is that mother. Alexandr Topuriya is the inspector. The Russian listing on Kino-Teatr boils the plot to one sentence. A story about how a deaf father heard his child . In late 2019 the streamer Wink packaged six Industry student shorts as an exclusive block. The YouTube promo names Mute in the same breath as Harmony, Doping, and The Offer, with Bondarchuk, Ilya Stewart, Vrubel, Andryuschenko, and screenwriter Alexei Kazakov listed as curators .
Vokrug TV treats MUTE as Vlasov's first step. Born in 1992, he left Voronezh University for VGIK's screenwriting workshop under Yuri Arabov, then finished directing at Industry in 2019 . More shorts followed, Bolvanka and Father and Son. Russian streamers then hired him for the Sochi spinoff Mazhor v Sochi, the 2023 Ivi crime-comedy Lada Gold, and the 2024 Wink series Kombinatsiya about the late-Soviet girl group of that name . Nobody leaked a salary. Nobody staged a feud. The mix-up is the story. Netflix still carries both 2018 titles, and this is the one where the kid has to keep his father from being taken.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.