Silence - An Epic Three Hour Test of Faith

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2017)

A three hour epic from Martin Scorsese, starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson.
The film is set in 17th century Japan where Christianity is outlawed and Liam Neeson's character is a priest, preaching the Catholic faith. The film starts with Liam Neesan's character, witnessing scenes of local Christian people suffering graphic torture, these scenes are typical Scorseses and difficult to watch. We appreciate that Liam Neeson's character is already struggling with his conscience and his faith.
When he goes missing two of his Portugese students, Garfield and Driver travel to Japan in search of him and also to continue preaching.
On arriving Garfield and Driver must denounce Christianity and must conduct Mass in secret, at night. Their Apostasy is demonstrated by stepping onto a tile with the imprint of Christ, easier for Garfield than Driver, they both refuse spitting on a cross. These characters engage in long periods of dialogue and this gives them a Shakespearian feel, both characters are particularly well developed and convincing.
Towards the end of the film we learn that Liam Neesan's character is still alive, he has denounced Christianity, studied at a Buddhist temple and became a Buddhist priest. We also learn that he has taken the identity of a dead local man and taken on his wife and son.
The film is almost three hours long but in my opinion didn't feel overly long, a film you need to watch, concentrate, absorb, question the decisions made and consider how far you would allow yourself be responsible for the suffering of others when the suffering is done to force you to denounce your faith?