Director: Martin Scorsese Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson Studio: Paramount Pictures Genre(s): Drama Rated: R (For some disturbing violent content) |
Christianity is considered such an outdated belief in
Hollywood, that I can’t go by a month without a movie being made that doesn’t
make some passing reference in how little good it does in people’s lives (from
the people making the movie, of course).
I do not bring this up to debate artists personal beliefs, as they are
free to believe (or not believe) in whatever they want, and they are free to
use those beliefs (or lack therefor) in whatever manner they wish to make a
movie. I have liked movies that
disagreed with religious and political beliefs of mine, and I have disliked
movies that did. What has been happening
is that you have people who do have strong beliefs making movies that are less
actual movies, and more responses to Hollywood.
Hollywood then turns around and pushes back. It is not healthy for anyone and just leads
to friction between the people who make movies and the audiences who pay to see
them.
Martin Scorsese is considered one of the most controversial
film makers of all time who has also happened to make some of the greatest
movies I’ve had the pleasure of viewing.
He describes himself as agnostic and has spent years making movies for
and against religion. The church is
usually not portrayed very positively in his movies. Yet with “The Last Temptation of the Christ,”
he showed a rather sympathetic view of Jesus while also struggled with the idea
that Jesus was God and man at the same time.
He clearly had issues with the idea, but he was more than willing to at
least explore them. With “Silence” I get
the sense he has taken a step back, looked at how the church used to preach the
gospel, and has come to the conclusion that the ideas behind the church are
sound, but that evil and weak people tend to ruin things.
Take a scene where priest Sebastiao Rodrigues (Andrew
Garfield) is talking with his captor, a high ranking Japanese official. The Japanese official tells him “you
Christians don’t understand Japan.”
Rodrigues replies (with convictions) “maybe it’s Japan who doesn’t
understand Christianity?” The two take a
long look at each other. One is
determined to break another while the other is determined not to break himself. Both have been raised with values that
neither want to deny. In some ways, they
aren’t too different from each other.
The Japanese, however, see the Christians as a threat to their way of
life and the natural order of things.
The Christians, on the other hand, see Japan as lacking the truth, and
are concerned about the people enough to willingly go into this foreign country
and speak that truth knowing that the cost could be their lives.
Now, from the Japanese perspective, this is foolish. They don’t want your Bible. They have no use for your God. One of the characters believes that the
Japanese version of Son of God is the sun that rises every day. So why bother? Yet Scorsese appears to have a real respect
for the Christians who go to preach the gospel in Japan despite the risks. To him these are not people who are trying to
disrupt the established order. These are
people who genuinely care about the people of this country and simply want them
to know what they perceive to be the truth.
He finds nothing wrong with that.
The question then, remains, how far do you take this? Because Japan is more threatened by ideals
than by the people, they go to great lengths to get the preachers to deny the
existence of God. Probably because, with
Christian teachings, death is not something to fear. Sort of hard to keep order when your citizens
don’t fear having their heads cut off with katanas.
The most complex character in the movie is Kichijiro (Yosuke
Kubozuka), who believes in his faith, but is genuinely afraid to die, and thus
denies Christ whenever the choice to live comes up. For Rodrigues this is a serious detrayal of
Christian doctrine, but continues to forgive him because he sees no evil in the
man. It’s nice to see a preacher who is
not too caught up in technicalities.
Word of the movie coming out from screenings is that this was a brutal film
to watch. While there are brief scenes
of violence, the brutality comes not from the violence, but on the preassure
placed on the main characters. Bad
things happen to good people simply because they believe in something the
government frowns upon. The people are put in a situation where they must deny
their values or be killed.
It hits close to home, I believe, because this isn’t something that has really gone away. The modern-day example of this is ISIS, who forces you to believe in what they believe, or you will be killed (you might even if you play along). Modern day gospel isn’t so different from the 17th century. There are still people who hate Christians and their message and want to silence them. In America, we openly mock them. In response, Christians get mad and make terrible movies like “God’s Not Dead.” “Silence” challenges viewers to take a step back and see Christians as humans. Humans who have your best interest at heart. Also, these are humans who love people dearly, and will put up with a lot because they believe the truth will benefit more than a lie. They put up with their torture with love and patience. If there is to be true diversity, it can only happen if people with differing beliefs can learn to respect one another. With how politics works these days, I fear we are nowhere close to that.
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there are a few scenes of torture. Nothing too over-the0top, but brutal in brief moments. Recommended for ages 15 and up.
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