Writer: Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese (Screenplay) Shusaku Endo (Novel)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Ciaran Hinds, Issei Ogata
Plot: Two priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor and propagate Catholicism.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Tough Watch
Story: Silence starts in 17th century as father Ferreira (Neeson) is in Japan where he witnesses the torture the catholic believers will go through to keep their faith while Ferreira apostasy himself. Leaving only a letter two priests Rodrigues (Garfield) and Garupe (Driver) refuse to believe Ferreira would apostasy himself they travel to Japan to learn the truth being the last two priest to travel there.
As the hunt to find any Christians in Japan continues Father Rodrigues and Father Garupe continue to spread the faith around the villages as the villagers gain the strength to stand up for their own God. Rodrigues on his journey learns that Japan is dealing with the Christians in a different way to what he was lead to believe but can he finally learn the truth about what happened to Father Ferreira.
Thoughts on Silence
Story – The story here is hard to get through even if it is easy to follow because what the Priest have to go through for what they call faith is difficult to sit through. The idea this is how people were treated is terrible and as a non-believer who is open to let people believe in whatever they want I think it is wrong. Make sure you are prepared going into this one though because it is long.
History – We look at the historical side of this story as we see how Christians were treated by the Japanese in the 17th century.
Characters/Performance – Father Rodrigues is our main character who wants to know what happened to his mentor, he is idealistic for the time and open to listen to anyone who wants to follow Christianity. Ferreira is the one being search for who has given up his faith for the people there. Father Garupe is a good supporting character that works well with Rodrigues. When you look at the performances they are all fantastic from the while cast.
Settings – Each setting is truly authentic for the time period and Japanese culture. We are left to see the struggle each character must go through on a daily basis with the Christians hiding from the Japanese looking to rid the country of them.
Final Thoughts – One of the hardest films to get through this film because of all the religious aspects going on through the film, it is rewarding but also very long.
Overall: Long but rewarding historical drama.
Rating