Silence: how catholic colonialism failed or how japan protected its culture

Rating: 6/10 (30 January 2017)

I am a huge Scorsese fan and while not every film he has made is a favorite of mine, my most favorited movies are directed by him. He is a brilliant director and not much more needs to be said about that.
This film caught my eye for two reasons: Scorsese and Japan. And it delivers in the sense of showing the beauty of Japan, the culture in the 17th century and ample emotionally intense scenes and unforgettable images. Japan is lush and green as I remember it. The sound of cicadas takes me back to summer along the Tama River. The film is like being there again in many ways.
Unfortunately, the subject matter was not my cup of tea and no matter how much I wanted to engage with the film I just couldn't get past the subject which seems utter madness to me to be told from this perspective of the suffering and crisis of faith of the missionaries. It seemed a rather overblown effort to create parallels with the Christ--as if these missionaries were white Jesus' coming to save Japan. From what exactly I'm not sure as everything suffered by the poor as portrayed in the film is identical to the suffering of peasants in europe at this time.
I did enjoy the philosophical debates that ensued between the padre Rodrigues and the elites (esp. inquisitor and converted priest ferreira) who hold him prisoner. Probably the highlight of the film.
But these discussions weren't enough to forget the irritating aspects of the film. For example, the narration grates very quickly. Its just a monologue of romanticism for religious fanaticism. I wish the film had heeded its title rather than add this aspect to the film. I think the content, if necessary to the plot, could have been conveyed in another way.
So the movie is basically a two hour plus illustration of the utter waste of human life and suffering over the course of history all in the name of religion and fictional tales of yore. Its not a pleasant experience to watch and the questions raised by the film are not ones I personally wish to ponder as I have left that psychological crutch behind long ago.
One thing that kept running through my mind during the film: if the Native Americans, who were also facing catholic colonialism during this period of history, had done what the Japanese did when they found western culture polluting their own, they might still have their languages, lands and ways of life.
Maybe if you're religious this would be pleasant to watch, but for me it was a long long film that tangled with concepts that were not of much interest to me.
One thing I found rather offensive was the dedication at the end of the film to the Japanese Christians. I remember meeting a few Japanese Christians while living in Japan. I found it rather intriguing that the Japanese in general viewed these believers with some level of--suspicion? I am not sure how else to characterize it but clearly their beliefs were not accepted and viewed as strange. Even with witnessing this, I still don't think a dedication like that is appropriate. It is basically characterizing the Japanese Christians as long suffering victims. The fact is, if Japan had not done what it did, it would have lost its culture and been overrun by colonialists like Hong Kong and other Asian cities. It may have been harsh but I think it was a wise choice to keep the European colonialist marauders at the beach head. And the tactics used as shown in this film were brilliant. If there is any doubt about that, just look at what happened to the indigenous peoples around the world who did not or could not make that same choice.