Hotel Silence (2024 Film): Plot, Book vs Movie & Streaming

The query “film Hotel Silence” often leads to confusion: is it the new drama directed by Léa Pool, the Martin Scorsese film from 2016, or the 2019 Netflix thriller? This article clarifies the identity of the 2024 film Hotel Silence (original French title: Hôtel Silence), answering the most common viewer questions with verified data from official film databases, Quebec press reviews, and the Swiss film commission. We explain where it was filmed, whether it is available on Netflix, how it compares to the novel by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, and why it is not the same as those other “Silence” titles.

Last checked: 2026-07-26

Director: Léa Pool · Release year: 2024 · Genre: Drama · Based on: Novel ‘Hotel Silence’ by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

Where was Hotel Silence filmed?

The film is a Canadian-Swiss co-production. La Presse notes that the protagonist Jean buys a one-way ticket from Canada to a country painfully rebuilding after war. The story is set in an unnamed war-damaged European country, but the production team filmed in Quebec and Switzerland. The CineImage Swiss film database lists the film as a Swiss production, while Quebec press emphasizes its Montreal talent and premiere. The Evolution 107.9 review describes the film’s visual setting as between the snowy landscapes of the Pyrenees and Montreal.

Specific filming locations beyond these general regions are not publicly detailed. The film intentionally leaves the war-torn country unnamed, creating a universal setting for post-conflict trauma rather than tying it to a specific real-world conflict, as Cinoche notes in its press-review roundup.

Is Hotel Silence the movie on Netflix?

No. Hotel Silence (2024) is not the same film as Silence (2016, directed by Martin Scorsese) or The Silence (2019, Netflix original). As of June 2025, there is no official Netflix availability for Hotel Silence in any major territory.

The Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb pages for Hotel Silence do not list Netflix as a distributor or streaming platform, and no major reviews or press articles identify it as a Netflix Original title. However, the Swiss platform CineImage lists a streaming option “Watch Hôtel Silence on myfilm” starting June 26, 2025, indicating a digital VOD availability in the Swiss market.

For viewers in Canada and Europe who want to watch, the film had a theatrical release starting March 29, 2024 (Canada) and has since appeared on the Swiss myfilm platform. No North American streaming subscription service has announced the title as of this writing.

What is the book Hotel Silence about?

The novel Hotel Silence (original Icelandic title Ör) was written by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir and published in 2017. The Suburban reports that the novel sold more than 23,000 copies in French alone before the film adaptation.

The book follows a middle-aged Icelandic man who, after his wife leaves him and his daughter moves out, decides to travel to a war-torn European country with the intention of ending his life. He checks into the Hotel Silence, where he meets a cast of survivors—Zoran, Ana, Kristina, and a mysterious long-term tenant—and slowly rediscovers a sense of purpose through practical acts of repair and human connection.

The Letterboxd summary of the film adaptation matches this premise: “a man in his fifties who travels from Canada to a far-off European country, expecting it to be a beautiful place to end his days but instead encountering the resilience of Hotel Silence’s inhabitants.” The film adaptation shifts the protagonist’s nationality from Icelandic to Québécois, according to La Presse, grounding his departure point in Montreal and visually connecting his journey to the Quebec landscape and European post-war settings.

Both book and film center on themes of male midlife depression, suicidal ideation, and slow recovery through solidarity with civilians in a devastated country. Quebec critics at Cinoche note that the film foregrounds female resilience more strongly than the novel, with several outlets describing it as “an ode to the resilience of women.”

Alternatives: similar films to consider

If you are searching for Hotel Silence and encountering different results, here are three films that often appear in related searches:

Frequently asked questions

“Hôtel Silence is a sensitive, uplifting drama about self‑reconstruction and director Léa Pool’s best film since La passion d’Augustine.”

— Le Journal de Montréal, review of Hôtel Silence (March 29, 2024)

“Lorena Handschin is the major revelation of Hôtel Silence, a performance fresh and mischievous alongside Sébastien Ricard’s taciturn lead.”

— La Presse, quoted by Cinoche

The film’s Montreal premiere on March 26, 2024 at Théâtre Outremont drew the cast, crew, and novelist Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, according to The Suburban. Audience scores vary: CinemaClock shows high user ratings in the mid-to-high 8s out of 10 among viewers over 25, while IMDb users rate it around 6.4-6.5/10, a pattern suggesting strong word-of-mouth among its target adult audience in Quebec but a more mixed response from a broader international audience.