Silence
Martin Scorsese
Cast
Adam Driver: Fr. Francisco Garrpe
Andrew Garfield: Fr. Sebastião Rodrigues
Liam Neeson: Father Cristóvão Ferreira
Tadanobu Asano: Interpreter
Issey Ogata: Inquisitor Inoue
Shinya Tsukamoto: Mokichi
Yōsuke Kubozuka: Kichijiro
Yoshi Oida: Ichizo (Jisama)
Silence can be disturbing as well as Peaceful. Silence is a story of strength and sufferance of two Portuguese Priest, in search of their mentor in Japan, and the Christian there who face persecution for following Christianity. As the title suggests silence is a medium to magnify the emotions that the priests and people go through.
Martin Scorsese very well portrays the pain and fear induced in the Christians and the priests. The scene where Jisama, Mokichi and a peasant were being hung on the cross amongst the hard splashing waves, there are shots of waves hitting the rock and the magnitude of its sound portrays the pain they must be going through. There are many instances when many Christians and priests are put on a trial over their faith. In one of the scene where Jisama and other peasants were asked to spit on the cross and three of them didn't and faced a horrible death. The last words of Jisama were "Paraiso" and Mokichi sang a hymn in last hours, this showed that their faith gave them strengths to get through all the suffering. Priests have had to encounter many such incidents but it is their faith which gives them the strength to continue on their voyage. Through many such scenes of torture and fear, the power that religion possess has been portrayed.
The priests all the way from Portuguese enter into this land full of danger. They are various instances when a sense of fear induced by various situations that priests go through such as, when they enter Japan and are waiting under a cave, in a scene where they have to hide under the floor of an isolated hut, a scene where father Rodriguez is captured by the inquisitor's army.
"They are desperate for tangible signs of faith. So I provide what I could. I worry they value these poor signs of faith more than the faith itself."
"Our Buddha is a being, which men can become. Something greater than himself. If he can overcome all his illusions. But you cling to your illusions and call them faith."
This Dialogues put forward the question that does the meaning of religion for man, over the years, have changed? Did Buddha bring the sufferings on to men to force them to follow his path? Would Christ want men to follow his path at the cost of all these sufferings?
Father Rodrigues is shown to question the faith and God's silence
" How Can I explain his silence to these people who have endured so much. I need all my strength to understand it myself"
" Tremble. Tremble. It's alright to tremble."
" God sends us trials to test us and everything he does is good. And I prayed to undergo trials like his son. But why must their trials be so terrible? and why, when I look in my own heart do the answers I give them seem so weak."
There is a scene when Father Rodrigues sees a reflection of Christ in water as if the path that he's on must be very similar to that of Christ. When he encounters the death of Father Garupe and other Christian Peasants and as he recollects all the terrible deaths, his faith is shattered to its core. He cries "He's not going to answer". This very well shows how God's Silence has made him vulnerable. In the scene where Father Rodrigues has been asked to apostatize to save five peasants, there's a close up shot of the frame with Christ and in the absolute silence the voice is heard:
" Come ahead now. It's alright. Step on me. I understand your pain. I was born into this world to share man's pain. I carried this cross for your pain. Your life is with me now. Step."
It is the Voice of Christ or maybe it is his inner voice but it is then when he understands his faith and his duties. He steps and falls in disgrace. The silence persists to let his sorrows be realised. How a simple step ' A formality ' ended the peasant's suffering and also Father Rodrigues's internal suffering
The scenes which can be considered so central to the films, as they are the core of all the conflicts (internal or external) in the film, are:
1. The scene when Jisama, Mokichi and other peasants were going to surrender, Mokichi asks Father Rodrigues "My love for God is strong, could that be the same as faith?"
2. All the scenes where Kichijro steps on the Christ and spits on the cross, as he puts the agony of his life before Father Rodrigues,"Year ago I could have died a good Christian, there could have been no persecution. Why was I born now? This is so unfair."
3. A scene near the end when Father Rodrigues Share his sorrow with the Christ,"I fought against your silence."
and the Christ (or his inner Voice) replies,"I was never silent, I suffered beside you."
All such scenes put up a very basic question: Religion show man how to live, now how can it be a cause of death." After Father Rodrigues apostatized, he and Father Ferreira gave up their names and Christian way of living. Yet their hearts followed Christianity until their Death. 'Silence' through the voyage of two priests in the land of Japan in order to redeem Christianity and their mentor and all the terrible persecutions in the land of Japan questions all the aspects of religion and portrays the strength it possesses to die for it or to live with it in the heart.
Cover photo courtesy: http://boymeetsfilm.com/silence-2016/
Photos and dialogue courtesy: “Silence.” Silence, Bluray, 2016.
