SILENCE
****
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks based on the eponymous novel by Shûsaku Endô
Principal cast:
Andrew Garfield
Adam Driver
Lian Neeson
Yosuke Kubozuka
Tadanobu Asano
Ciarán Hinds
Country: USA/UK/Taiwan/Japan/Mexico/Italy
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 161 mins.
Australian release date: 16 February 2017
In Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Silence, the acclaimed director returns to a theme that he’s been wrestling with his whole career - faith, particularly faith as it’s promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church. It’s in his first feature, Who’s That Knocking at My Door, when Harvey Keitel’s character can’t see past the dogma of the Catholic Church to marry the girl he loves because she’s been raped, and many others since and I suspect Silence won’t be the last time he deals with this subject.
The film centres on a pair of 17th century Portuguese Jesuits, Fathers Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver), who set off for Japan in search of their missing mentor Father Christavão Ferreira (Liam Neeson) because word has reached Lisbon that Ferreira has renounced his Christian faith and is living as a Buddhist, raising a family with a Japanese woman. It’s an extremely perilous journey because, at that time, the Japanese powers-that-be were violently suppressing the spread of Christianity, torturing all adherents and requiring them to apostatise, to renounce their faith, by stepping on an image of Christ. Failure to do so meant a long and painful death. The two young men are accompanied by the conflicted drunkard Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka), who acts as their paid guide but who has personal reasons for wanting their mission to succeed. The longer they stay in Japan, hidden by Christian villagers, the greater the danger to both them and the locals, particularly when the Samurai lords learn of their clandestine visit. Gradually though, Rodrigues gets nearer to Ferreira and the heart of the story - is it possible to apostatise and still remain of ‘the faith?’ This is the crux of Endô’s 1966 eponymous novel and the reason why it’s had such an impact on Scorsese. “At this time in my life I continually think about - wonder about - faith and doubt, weakness, and the human condition, and these are the very themes that Endo’s book touches upon in such a direct way,” the director says.
Many of Scorsese’s long-time collaborators joined him again for Silence, including DOP Rodrigo Prieto, multi-Academy Award-winning Production Designer Dante Ferretti, who designed the costumes as well as the sets for the film, and three-time Oscar-winner Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese’s editor for over 40 years. She has edited all of Scorsese’s features since Raging Bull, so it’s disappointing to say that the editing is the weakest link in this one, although in fairness this may be due to how close the director is to the material, not Schoonmaker’s cutting skills; Scorsese and co-writer Jay Cocks began work on the script back in 1988 and it’s subject, as he’s explained above, is very close to his heart. In any event, at 161 minutes, the movie is way too long. Still, there’s no such thing as a poor Martin Scorsese film and Silence is no exception. It may be flawed and violent, but it’s undeniably an important film.
Screenwriters: Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks based on the eponymous novel by Shûsaku Endô
Principal cast:
Andrew Garfield
Adam Driver
Lian Neeson
Yosuke Kubozuka
Tadanobu Asano
Ciarán Hinds
Country: USA/UK/Taiwan/Japan/Mexico/Italy
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 161 mins.
Australian release date: 16 February 2017
In Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Silence, the acclaimed director returns to a theme that he’s been wrestling with his whole career - faith, particularly faith as it’s promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church. It’s in his first feature, Who’s That Knocking at My Door, when Harvey Keitel’s character can’t see past the dogma of the Catholic Church to marry the girl he loves because she’s been raped, and many others since and I suspect Silence won’t be the last time he deals with this subject.
The film centres on a pair of 17th century Portuguese Jesuits, Fathers Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver), who set off for Japan in search of their missing mentor Father Christavão Ferreira (Liam Neeson) because word has reached Lisbon that Ferreira has renounced his Christian faith and is living as a Buddhist, raising a family with a Japanese woman. It’s an extremely perilous journey because, at that time, the Japanese powers-that-be were violently suppressing the spread of Christianity, torturing all adherents and requiring them to apostatise, to renounce their faith, by stepping on an image of Christ. Failure to do so meant a long and painful death. The two young men are accompanied by the conflicted drunkard Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka), who acts as their paid guide but who has personal reasons for wanting their mission to succeed. The longer they stay in Japan, hidden by Christian villagers, the greater the danger to both them and the locals, particularly when the Samurai lords learn of their clandestine visit. Gradually though, Rodrigues gets nearer to Ferreira and the heart of the story - is it possible to apostatise and still remain of ‘the faith?’ This is the crux of Endô’s 1966 eponymous novel and the reason why it’s had such an impact on Scorsese. “At this time in my life I continually think about - wonder about - faith and doubt, weakness, and the human condition, and these are the very themes that Endo’s book touches upon in such a direct way,” the director says.
Many of Scorsese’s long-time collaborators joined him again for Silence, including DOP Rodrigo Prieto, multi-Academy Award-winning Production Designer Dante Ferretti, who designed the costumes as well as the sets for the film, and three-time Oscar-winner Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese’s editor for over 40 years. She has edited all of Scorsese’s features since Raging Bull, so it’s disappointing to say that the editing is the weakest link in this one, although in fairness this may be due to how close the director is to the material, not Schoonmaker’s cutting skills; Scorsese and co-writer Jay Cocks began work on the script back in 1988 and it’s subject, as he’s explained above, is very close to his heart. In any event, at 161 minutes, the movie is way too long. Still, there’s no such thing as a poor Martin Scorsese film and Silence is no exception. It may be flawed and violent, but it’s undeniably an important film.