Martin Scorsese: Silence

Director - Martin Scorsese
Writers - Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese (screenplay) and Shusaku Endo (novel)

Cast:

Andrew Garfield - Rodrigues
Adam Driver - Garupe
Liam Neeson - Ferreira
Tadanobu Asano - interpreter
Ciaran Hinds - Father Valignano
Issei Ogata - Old Samurai/Inoue
Shin'ya Tsukamoto - Mokichi
Yoshi Oida - Ichizo
Yosuke Kubozuka - Kichijiro

Is it ever okay to disrespect the image of God to save lives?

Silence begins with decapitated heads of Christians guarded by a samurai. The film takes place in the year of 1633 in Japan. The Tokugawa Shogunate outlawed Christianity and uses ladles filled with holes so the scolding hot water would prolong the pain of the Christians it was poured on. The Catholic priests being tortured not only refused to apostatize, they asked to be tortured so they could demonstrate the strength of their faith and the presence of God within them.

News comes to Garupe and Rodrigues that Ferreira apostatized and surrendured the faith. They decide to find Father Ferreira. They want to save his soul if he is damned. May 25th, 1640. Rodrigues writes to Father Valignano. They find a Japanese guide who will be a Judas character in the film. His name is Kichijiro. He denies being Christian because they are killed in Nagasaki. In his diary Rodrigues writes that he will spread the gospel - there is an inter-cut of a painting by El Greco called The Veil. They reach Japan's shore. Ichizo genuflects to show he is a a Catholic gaining Rodrigues and Garupe's trust. The inquisitor will pay silver to capture Christians and more silver for a priest.

Rodrigues gives Mokichi a crucifix. They offer salvation to the Japanese villagers, hear their confessed sins and hold mass for them. They do mass in Latin. They baptize babies. Rodrigues says the child is safe in the grace of God now. People from another village knock on the door because Kichijiro told them. Kichijiro apostatized but his whole family is killed anyways. He goes to another village. Rodrigues consecrates the Holy Eucharist in mass. He gives them communion. A villager reveals Ferreira was in Nagasaki. In a flashback Kichijiro watches his family being burned alive.

Inoue's men took Ichizo as revealed by Mokichi. A samurai comes to the village and says he's aware that some of them are Christians. He wants to find out where they are hiding. Inoue arrives and he is sadistic behind his smile. Rodrigues says to trample on the fumi-e if pressured. They pray. Rodrigues tells Mokichi his faith gives him strength. They put a plate of Mary and Jesus to step on for Ichizo. Mokichi's breathing is heavy and he is nervous and one of the guards notice that so they want Ichizo to spit on a crucifix but he refuses. Mokichi doesn't spit on the cross either but Kichijiro does.

They bind them in a crucifix and let the water's waves crash against them until they are exhausted and drown. Ichizo dies and says Paradise. Mokichi calls on Jesus to receive Ichizo's soul. He dies as well. Rodrigues says in his letter to Father Valignano, "How can I explain His silence to these people who have endured so much?" Garupe and Rodrigues separate and go to different towns to avoid detection by Inoue's guards. Rodrigues arrives in Goto. Rodrigues tells God, "The weight of your silence is terrible." Kichijiro says there is a price of 300 pieces of silver for Rodrigues. As Rodrigues looks into the water he is drinking from he sees a reflection of himself turn into one of Christ. The image is that of El Greco's Veil of Veronica.

Rodrigues is joyous out of ego as many religious leaders are. Samurai surround him and they find religious artifacts. The guards throw silver at Kichijiro as they did to Judas. Kichijiro betrayed Rodrigues. Inoue says of the captured villagers, "They are fools, those peasants." he also says, "The price for your glory is their suffering." A translator comes to speak to Rodrigues. He tells him, "We have our own religion, Padre. You believe our Buddhists are only men. Just human beings." Rodrigues says, "Even a Buddha dies. Like all men He is not the Creator." This is the ignorance in religion as one thinks it is better than the other. The Translator asks him to apostatize. Rodrigues cannot look at him when he says this - this is his hypocrisy asking Ichizo and Mokichi to step on the fumi-e but not doing it himself. He tells Rodrigues Ferreira has a Japanese name and a Japanese wife now.

Rodrigues enters the prison fortress and his real suffering is about to begin - one where he battles his pride and ego. Rodrigues feels the words he thinks God would say to him, "I will not abandon you." The doctrine according to Inoue's underling might be true in Spain and Portugal but they studied it and found it is of no use and no value in Japan. The translator tells Rodrigues, "Everyone knows a tree which flourishes in one kind of earth may decay and die in another." He is speaking of Christianity in Japan decaying. Rodrigues stupidly says, "You want to test my faith, give me a real challenge." Kichijiro confesses his sins to Rodrigues. He fears, he feels he may not be worthy of Jesus because he feels hatred toward Kichijiro. None of the prisoners step on the fume. One of the prisoners is beheaded by a samurai. Inoue compares Rodrigues's religion to the persistent love of an ugly woman and how a barren woman should never be a wife.

Rodrigues sees Garupe and sees the Japanese Christians wrapped in mats. The inquisitor Inoue promises if Garupe apostatizes the four will be free. They drown the four Japanese Christians and Garupe drowns trying to save the life of the bound Christians. Garupe never apostatizes.

They torture and hang a Japanese Christian upside down as he says the Lord's prayer. Ferreira finally comes. Rodrigues cries thinking of his moral dilemma, ego and knowing he will have to decide to step on a fume says, "If you have any pity for me, say something." Father Ferreira is now known as Sawano - his Japanese name. He writes about astronomy.  The translator reveals the other book Ferreira is writing is called Kengiroku which shows the errors of Christianity. Ferreira looks down and is ashamed.


Torture is made by making an incision cut in the back of your neck so it doesn't run to your head and you won't die to soon while being tied upside down. Ferreira says he's been in Japan for 15 years. He says, "Our religion does not take root in this country." Ferreira says about the burnt martyrs to Rodrigues, "They 're dying for you Rodrigues." The movie hints that the scriptures were misinterpreted by Japanese where they thought Son of God was sun of God. Later Ferreira visits him in his prison cell and says to him, "Those five in the pit are suffering in the pit like Jesus, but they don't have your pride. They would never compare themselves to Jesus. Do you have the right to make them suffer? I heard the cries of suffering in the same cell. And I acted." Ferreira urges Rodrigues to apostatize to save those in the pit. Rodrigues hears  Jesus/God's voice," Come ahead, now. It's all right. Step on me. I understand your pain. I was born in this world to share men's pain. I carried this cross for your pain. Your life is with me now. Step." Rodrigues steps on the image of God, the fume, and saves the villagers' lives.

The villagers' children call Rodrigues "Apostate Paul." Rodrigues and Ferreira spend the rest of their days inspecting artifacts coming into Japan and determine whether they are Christian or non-Christian. Rodrigues inherits a wife and son when a man dies. He gets the Japanese name of the man who died. Inoue tells Rodrigues he was not defeated by him he was defeated by this swamp of Japan. To protect themselves they deny God. Rodrigues wife helps prepare the body for his funeral. The narrator says, "The body was treated in the Buddhist manner. He was given a posthumous Buddhist name." Inside his hand is a small crucifix his wife put in his hands as he is cremated.