Does the spark die?

Rating: 10/10 (24 June 2017)

I didn't read the book, nor am I an expert in history, so I will not nitpick about any of that. I will only focus on the story, which the movie does too - thankfully.
"Silence" got under my skin. I'm a believer in God, specifically in Jesus Christ, so naturally I was invested because of that alone, but I believe this movie isn't specifically targeted towards me. It's not manipulative nor does it preach to its audience. Quite the opposite, in fact - it put me in a hard place. It puts you in a place where you really have to think about how you deal with your faith and what that faith ultimately is. I also believe anyone can find something about this movie, it doesn't tell you what to believe or what's wrong and right.
"Silence" is a movie about two Jesuit priests who embark on a mission to find their former catholic mentor, who has allegedly renowned his faith in Japan where he was a missionary. They find some Japanese people clinging to Christianity, and those persecuting it. Sounds like a simple, manipulative shock movie? It's not. While it is grim and there are some shocking scenes, this movie gets you in a different way. There is a constant, underlying story about nature of faith in an environment where that faith isn't welcome, and it's pushed to its limits.
I don't recall seeing a movie where a man struggles to keep his faith that moved me this much. It's not about some pretentious, meaningless problems: it's about harrowing situations, forces and things beyond one's control - and also about the inner struggle between pride, despair and doubt. It's inescapable. This movie is uncompromisingly brutal in what it wants you to ask yourself, and it doesn't let you off easy. I saw myself in many of the characters, and it was always about their weaknesses and shortcomings. I don't want to look at those dark parts of my soul, but sometimes I have to, and this movie pushed me there.
Every part of the movie has a purpose and it always seems to have something to say. The journey might be long at times, and uncomfortable at others, but the journey is just as important as the destination. In the end we get a glimpse of something. For some it can be defeat, for some it can be hope. Perhaps it's about what the nature of faith really is, when it's stripped out of everything else but its own essence, and that's something I find myself thinking about as I'm writing this review. I find the the ending beautiful in its own way.
Everyone is great in "Silence". Garfield, Neeson and Driver are very good, and they all bring in that "something" they possess. Their performances are without ego. I didn't see famous people acting, I just saw people. But the Japanese cast must be applauded. All of them. Every single one of them, even those with only 10 seconds of screen time, nail their parts. This is not some cynical Hollywood diversity meeting, no, these are real actors doing a real damn good job. I don't want to single anyone out, but Oida, Tsukamoto, Kubozuka, Ogata and Azano were very good. But once again, even the "villager" and "wife" actors/actresses were amazing and their parts should not be forgotten.
Cinematography is great, if you don't count just a few shots that weren't as good as everything else. It's not just about breathtaking scenery - although you get that as well - but the cinematic language is present in the visuals. Same with the music, it works in favor of the film. You almost never hear it, but when you do it's mostly just harrowing noise. It's still not meaningless noise without effort or meaning, because it finds a way to communicate something that visuals alone will not.
Scorsese wanted to get this movie made for a long time. Now he did it. It's easy to see why the man who directed "The Last Temptation of Christ" would be interested in this story. It's clearly personal to him, but it's personal to me too. It's a sign of a truly powerful movie to feel a little broken after seeing it, only to find out it's slowly putting you back together again the more you think about it.
"Silence" is like any passion project of an artist, it's not going to be loved (or even seen) by an enormous amount of people. It's also slow, probably offensive to different people for myriad of reasons, it's about religion and faith. But it's also about hope and that little mysterious and persistent spark inside us. It's not "them" who can kill the spark, it's always us. And even if we feel like we killed that spark and all is lost, perhaps we can take a lesson from Kichijiro...and try again.