Silence (2016)

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2019)

Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Andrew Garfield, Tadanobu Asano, Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, Issey Ogata, Yosuke Kubozuka, Shinya Tsukamoto, Ciarán Hinds, Yoshi Oida, Nana Komatsu. (R)
After receiving word that a priest (Neeson) living in Japan has renounced his faith following torture at the hands of authorities persecuting Christians, a pair of young Jesuit priests (Garfield, Driver) travel there to find him. Scorsese and Jay Cocks' adaptation of Shusaku Endo's book (previously filmed by Masahiro Shinoda in 1971) is an examination of the power of faith and the "silence" of God when one suffers and cannot hear or feel His/Her presence and compassion, reflective of the director's long-held struggle with his own religious ideals and beliefs. The film's deeply thoughtful austerity creates a hurtle to accepting its message--it unfolds too slowly once the priests' journey begins, and doesn't always fully engage once pivotal plot points arrive; the patient will be rewarded, however, by its lingering propositions. Vivid recreation of 17th century Japan is always gorgeous to look at (even at its most brutal); cut by Scorsese's long-time editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, but those pacing issues (and an overlong denouement) cannot be overlooked. Strong performances from most of the cast, especially Asano and Ogata. Had long been a passion project for Scorsese, closing out an informal trilogy of faith alongside "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Kundun."
81/100