Silence (2016)

★★★★★
One of my favourite films from Martin Scorsese, and my favourite movie about Christianity and religion as a whole.

He waited three decades to make this film, because he felt he wasn't ready to tell this story in the earlier years of his career.

The restraint shown in its aesthetics and direction make it hands down the best directing from the legend,.nothing is stylized or in your face.

Contrary to most of his more explosive films like Goodfellas, Casino, Raging Bull or Taxi Driver, Silence is very distant, toned down and objectively framed.

"Silence" is a monumental work, and a punishing one. It puts you through hell with no promise of enlightenment, only a set of questions and propositions, sensations and experiences.

Silence is far more beautiful than it has any right to be. The directing is so masterful that I don’t think anybody could’ve made Silence but Martin Scorsese.

This is also the most emotionally wrenching performance from both Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, something deep and primal that wrestles with the heart.

There's a sense of ambiguity that leaves a lot of the film open to interpretation, making each viewing slightly different.

This is a challenging film but the reward is nothing short of pure spiritual enlightenment regarding Japanese culture and Christianity.

Shout out to the Japanese cast, who steal the show from the Americans and Europeans (not that they aren't doing great work as well). Tadanobu Asano, Issey Ogata, and Shinya Tsukamoto (!!!) give some of the most distinguished performances in any Scorsese film.

Asano and Ogata perfectly capture the sinister power of the state; although it can break you with force, it can just as easily break you with repetition and procedure.

Silence is far from perfect but it also escapes that standpoint. Scorsese achieves that by letting the camera do the work, the same trait he used for The Wolf of Wall Street. The camera is merely an observer and we as the audience are witnesses. He never tries to make a judgement on the two conflicting faiths of Christianity and Buddhism in 17th Century Japan.

All Scorsese asks of the audience is to watch with an open mind – that is all that is required. What you get in return is something intimate, personal and challenging.

Silence is a complete 360 degree turn away from The Wolf of Wall Street. The Wolf of Wall Street was bright, bold and in your face as Belfort’s antics dominate the screen. Silence is a stripped back and internal tale with cinema arthouse qualities. Filmed on 35mm print, Scorsese and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto captures detail, giving depth to the surroundings. Colours (in some scenes) are neutralised giving a haunting, omnipresent feel to the film. The music is largely absent – unnerving and unlike Scorsese as your senses are filled with the ambient sounds of the Japanese landscape. The film slowly draws you into the time period, bringing authenticity that you can immerse yourself in. From a production and technical perspective, Silence is a visually beautiful film and probably the best he’s directed.

Faith has been paramount to Scorsese’s films. In the opening of Mean Streets for example, Charlie (Harvey Keitel) is looking for forgiveness before going back to his life on the streets. Silence is no different as it explores the struggles of faith amongst oppression, tragedy and clear religious persecution. It does this in two ways.

The first half of the film explores it from the Christian perspective. We learn that Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) has denounced God in public. His students, Father Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Garupe (Adam Driver) take it upon themselves to learn the real truth. In their journey into the unknown they befriend local communities – Japanese Christians who pray and keep their faith hidden from the Japanese authorities who view the religion as a corruption on their Buddhist values.

The second half of the film explores it from the Japanese perspective. Transformed to what I could describe as a prisoner of war scenario, we see the real consequences of punishment, cruelty and oppression, something which Scorsese doesn’t shy away from. It’s uncomfortable and brutal. When there’s moments of respite, we get insights into the Japanese culture and why the Buddhist religion is integral. Their interpretation of God is vastly different from what Christians believe.

With a two hour and forty minute runtime, there’s a lot of take in and question and thankfully the split escapes what easily could have been a jarring experience.

The ideology of faith and morality comes to the forefront. Do you stick to your faith, taking untold psychological and physical torture (endure) or relinquish the faith so that you can survive (subservient by apostatizing). Does it become an act of mercy if you simply give in? For Father Rodrigues and Father Garupe, this is a question they must answer. The film becomes the ultimate test of what they believe in, in particular Father Rodrigues. He’s completely devoted and immersed in his beliefs and at one point he mimics the life of Jesus, suffering as he would have.

When the world is full of atrocities, is God with us – always and forever? Is he with us in times of need or crisis? Through the good or the bad? Do we feel a sense of abandonment when our calls are not answered? Silence becomes a personal and intimate internalisation of prayer and our open conversations between God, thanks to the help of no musical score to distract us. Just as the camera moves in some scenes through the dense and haunting fog, prayer is like reaching out into the evanescent void in hope we are heard. Silence truly steps up a gear when the human struggles are explored, not just from the priests, but from the Japanese people by delving into the emotional complexity of the world.

Silence brings up another topical debate because in essence, no one or religious faith gets out cleanly. From a Christianity perspective, the priests are there to find their teacher and spread the word of God in Japan. On the other hand, could the priests be viewed as arrogant and insensitive, going into a country and not respecting the local cultures? It’s an argument that’s no different from what missionaries have done over the years, converting people for their own agendas. Does interference do more harm that good? From a Japanese/Buddhist perspective, it reveals how ingrained the religious culture is in their society. But on the other hand, if you believe in something else, does that warrant religious persecution and torture? Do you have a right to impose your will onto others?

Looking at the bigger picture, it’s amazing to watch how religious ideologies have not changed. Watching the conflict on-screen, you get the great sense of deja vu:

The Crusaders – a series of religious wars sanctioned by the Latin church.
Northern Ireland – the conflict between Catholics and Protestants.
Nigeria – a country divided by a Muslim north and Christian south.
Rwanda – the conflict between the Hutus and the Tutsis which led to the genocide of the Tutsis.
Nazi Germany – Hitler cleansing the country so that all was left was a pure Aryan race. All ethnic minorities, in particular the Jews were sent to the concentration camps.
Today’s terrorism with ISIS.
It’s the overwhelming feeling of history repeating and how many conflicts or wars that are based on religion. Silence certainly encapsulates the real life parables inferred from it.

At no point in the film was there a flicker of hope. There was always a foreboding sense that this was a losing battle.

“Step on your Jesus.” – Inquisitor Inoue

What hurts Silence is the runtime. At 161 minutes and the slow but definitely not boring pace, it’s not the easiest of viewings. It can be gruelling. It’s understandable on the choices Scorsese makes – he simply made a film he wanted to make, but it wouldn’t have hurt if some scenes were sped up.

It’s also a film that you can’t watch anyhow. You need to commit to the film as the film commits to you.

Finally, Andrew Garfield gives a performance of a lifetime. His quiet reflections are beautiful. However for a film that is supposed to be about Portuguese Jesuit priests, the authenticity starts to crumble. The accents slip throughout whereas Liam Neeson does what John Wayne use to do – not bother. Whilst not distracting enough to disrupt Scorsese’s overall attempt, maybe the film would have been better if they hired actors closer to the ethnicity and language. But I guess the sad realisation is that Scorsese wouldn’t have been able to get his passion project made without big stars attached.

Scorsese takes a 25 years in the making risk and what I love about Silence is that it’s far removed and different from his previous films. This is a deep and philosophical look at religion and the inner peace we must find to give life meaning. Silence completes his religion trilogy, following on from the themes of The Last Temptation of Christ and Kundun.

Silence is meant to be challenging. Silence is meant to ask questions on faith and your beliefs. But most importantly, Scorsese leaves that judgement to you.

Silence won’t be universally adopted but I can imagine the elements will be dissected and analysed for years to come.