Silence (2016)
Country: US/TAI/MEX
Technical: col/2.35:1 161m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds
Synopsis:
Early 17th century Japan: with Jesuit priests and their converts being persecuted in large numbers, the Portuguese brotherhood reluctantly permits two young priests to travel there in search of their missing mentor, Father Ferreira, rumoured to have apostatized and turned native.
Review:
Focused, resolute drama, mounting its case inexorably towards what end, we are not sure. The director appears to be arguing that Christianity was fated to be stillborn or misunderstood in Japan, but that would be to underestimate his own faith, perhaps, and he could be equally in sympathy with the besieged Father Rodrigues, forced to renounce his god and believe in secret. Then again, there is also a slender lineage between his role as state customs official sniffing out Christian insignia, and that of Charlie in Mean Streets, turning his back on his faith to strike a pact with the devil. In short, this is the Scorsese of Kundun and The Last Temptation of Christ, unfailing in his artistry with the camera as ever, but uncompromising in his commitment to the long haul, philosophically and ethically speaking. Violence there is, but even that is handled with asceticism. Whether you take something profoundly moving from it will depend on your own attitude to faith.
Country: US/TAI/MEX
Technical: col/2.35:1 161m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds
Synopsis:
Early 17th century Japan: with Jesuit priests and their converts being persecuted in large numbers, the Portuguese brotherhood reluctantly permits two young priests to travel there in search of their missing mentor, Father Ferreira, rumoured to have apostatized and turned native.
Review:
Focused, resolute drama, mounting its case inexorably towards what end, we are not sure. The director appears to be arguing that Christianity was fated to be stillborn or misunderstood in Japan, but that would be to underestimate his own faith, perhaps, and he could be equally in sympathy with the besieged Father Rodrigues, forced to renounce his god and believe in secret. Then again, there is also a slender lineage between his role as state customs official sniffing out Christian insignia, and that of Charlie in Mean Streets, turning his back on his faith to strike a pact with the devil. In short, this is the Scorsese of Kundun and The Last Temptation of Christ, unfailing in his artistry with the camera as ever, but uncompromising in his commitment to the long haul, philosophically and ethically speaking. Violence there is, but even that is handled with asceticism. Whether you take something profoundly moving from it will depend on your own attitude to faith.
Country: US/TAI/MEX
Technical: col/2.35:1 161m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds
Synopsis:
Early 17th century Japan: with Jesuit priests and their converts being persecuted in large numbers, the Portuguese brotherhood reluctantly permits two young priests to travel there in search of their missing mentor, Father Ferreira, rumoured to have apostatized and turned native.
Review:
Focused, resolute drama, mounting its case inexorably towards what end, we are not sure. The director appears to be arguing that Christianity was fated to be stillborn or misunderstood in Japan, but that would be to underestimate his own faith, perhaps, and he could be equally in sympathy with the besieged Father Rodrigues, forced to renounce his god and believe in secret. Then again, there is also a slender lineage between his role as state customs official sniffing out Christian insignia, and that of Charlie in Mean Streets, turning his back on his faith to strike a pact with the devil. In short, this is the Scorsese of Kundun and The Last Temptation of Christ, unfailing in his artistry with the camera as ever, but uncompromising in his commitment to the long haul, philosophically and ethically speaking. Violence there is, but even that is handled with asceticism. Whether you take something profoundly moving from it will depend on your own attitude to faith.