Army of two

Rating: Null/10 (22 March 2017)

First, a simple synopsis. This is the story of two Portuguese priests' ordeal in the 17th century in Japan, a "swamp" that could not support the growth of Christianity. The prologue, set in some misty hot springs, is accompanied by a VO from Ferreira (Liam Neeson) which turns out to be actually his last letter to Father Valignano (Ciaran Hinds) describing the tortures (e.g. ladles of boiling hot spring water) applied to Christians in order to force him into apostasy. Nothing more is heard from him and his fate is shrouded in mystery.
In the opening scene, we see two priests once mentored by Ferreira, called Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver), finally convincing Valignano to approve their quest, "an army of two", to go to Japan to try to find out what happened to their much respected teacher.
The first half, which can arguably be described as events driven, is again presented like the prologue, now with Rodrigues's VO as the reporting letters. Taking a pitiable, drunken wreck Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka) from Macau to be their guide, the duo land in an idyllic, secluded Christian community in Japan. There, they carry on their modest task to sustain Christianity under the overwhelming shadow of persecution. Then, with an opportunity to go to a village with a slightly bigger population, Rodrigues is encouraged by the warm reception and enthusiasm of the villagers. He does not fail to notice that their focus seems to be more on acquiring a tangible token of faith (for this he has to part with his rosary which he breaks up for distribution) rather than true spiritual enlightenment. Still, he is patient and positive. The key turn of events comes when the purge of Christians finally finds its way to the village. Hiding away at a distance, the two priests witness hideous death dealt to people they have grown to know well: tied to a cross and consistently pounded on by the punishing fists of tidal waves, for four days before they finally die. They decide to split up reduce risk, with Rodrigues's parting words, "If we die, the Japanese church dies with us". No pretended modesty here.
The second half, with Rodrigues in captivity, can perhaps be seen as an ideological struggle. It is a duel between cultural beliefs and religious beliefs of Japan and the West. Manifested on the movie screen, it becomes a spiritual duel between Rodrigues and his captor Inquisitor Inoue (Issei Ogata). This in conducted through scintillating debates, which go both ways, and physical tortures (on the Christians, much as what was done to Ferreira), which obviously is one-way-traffic. If Rodrigues wins, he becomes a martyr, but not before many others die (for him, some may argue). If Inoue wins, Rodrigues would commit an act that is a recurring motif in the entire movie: trampling on a portrait of Christ, as an endorsement of apostasy. While this second half is not event-driven, there are two "events", the resurfacing of two characters we have seen before, Garupe and Ferreira, in that order.
What makes this 160-minute movie quite fascinating, in addition to Martin Scorsese's direction and Rodrigo Preito's cinematography, is the array of characters. While it is tempting to compare Garfield's performance in this movie and "Hacksaw Ridge", the exercise is not too meaningful. While the common denominator is Christian faith, the circumstances and personalities are so very different. Convincingly courageous, Rodrigues is however never free from doubts. Neeson, appearing only at the beginning and at the end, plays Ferreira with a quiet, commanding composure essential for anchoring his influence on Rodrigues, particularly in their scene of final confrontation. The two other Caucasian cast members do not get much action. Driver is underused despite one or two high-tension scenes while Hinds is more like a cameo.
The Japanese cast, by comparison, is more fascinating. Absolutely mesmerising is Issei Ogata's almost nonchalant interpretation of Inquisitor Inoue, so cool and awesome, in today's language. Kichijiro's complex character comes alive under Yosuke Kubozuka's top-notch handling. Playing Rodrigues's "personal Judas", he has to tread the thin line between comic side-kick and a tragic figure in its own right. Shin'ya Tsukamoto is effective as Japanese martyr Mokichi. Finally, there is the most internationally recognized Japanese star Tadanobu Asano playing an interpretator assigned to be Rodrigues's sort of moral guide. Asano deftly dances between I-couldn't-care-less flippancy and ferocious denouncement of Rodrigues's obstinate foolishness.