The deafening Silence of unanswered prayers

Rating: 7/10 (23 January 2017)

Martin Scorsese, who explored religious themes and biblical situations in 1988's controversial "The Last Temptation Of Christ," visits that genre again, only with a much wider scope and with less scrutiny and condemnation; although he always does not have good things to say about Western powers trying the Christianize Japan in the mid-17th century.
Co-written by Scorsese and Jay Cocks ("Gangs Of New York"), and based upon the book by Shûsaku Endô, "Silence" shows two Portuguese Franciscan Catholic missionaries, Father Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield, "Hacksaw Ridge") and Father Garupe (Adam Driver, "Paterson," "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"), sent by their superior, Valignano (Ciaran Hinds, "Bleed For This") to find the whereabouts of a missing priest, Ferreira (Liam Neesom, "A Monster Calls"), who taught and mentored both young friars.
Rumors persist that he denied his faith, denounced the church and is currently living in Japan with a native wife and children, but Rodrigues and Garupe insist this is not true and travel to China and enlist the aid of a drunken guide, Ichizo (Yoshi Oida, "Open At Night"), an apostate himself (but with loyalties that seem to turn on a dime), to smuggle them into the Land Of the Rising Sun.
Once in Japan, where all of the Catholic priests have been tortured and murdered by local Shinto warlords led by The Grand Inquisitor Inoue (Issei Ogata, "Priceless" TV series) and his minions, the padres discover a hidden community of brutally-oppressed, but steadfast Christians waiting for these men to aid their cause. This is not an easy task, since guards are constantly searching for members of this "outlawed" religion and the two must hide in caves, remote villages and other locations just to avoid detection.
When men from another village find out priests are present, they persuade the skeptical duo to help their hamlet, as well. Here, they are told that several years back,Ichizo saw soldiers burn his family at the stake for not denying their Christian faith (by symbolically stepping on a bronze plaque of Jesus), while he conforms almost immediately. Wracked with guilt, he confesses this sin, but again, we are never sure of his true motivation.
After the two Fathers separate, Ichizo's treachery is reinforced when he betrays Rodrigues to the Inquisitor (for a symbolic payment of 300 silver coins), who knows that just killing the man of God would just make Rodrigeus a martyr and stronger and holier in the eyes of the local Christians.
Instead, he uses a form of psychological warfare, punishing the converts and placing the blame on Rodrigues' pride and stubborn convictions. Again, Ichizo confesses that he is truly remorseful for selling the priest out and vows to make amends, but by now, we are curious just how much more the Father can actually take from this character who seemingly begs forgiveness in every other scene.
Imprisoned and forced to watch Japanese Christians executed by crucifixion, drowning and decapitation, as well as the deafening silence of his supposedly unanswered prayers, Rodrigues is pushed to the breaking point only to discover an even darker secret about the man for which he and his Jesuit partner were searching and is forced to make an excruciating decision.
Cocks and Scorsese analyze deep passionate themes of piety and self- sacrifice here that attempt to balance out the matter-of-fact cruelty of feudal Japan, but does not spare the Christian religion itself from its pomposity regarding an "invasion" to convert the "infidel" island nation (cut off by chance, geography and design for thousands of years).
Rodrigues is also told that while many of its citizens are willing to accept the Word and Gospel as a part of their lives, few have any clear understanding of just what that entails from a Western and/or European perspective. They equate Jesus with the rising of the sun and base their believes on the simple facts of the natural world which is the only tangible thing they can relate to.
It's certainly a simplistic vision and, in truth, is almost as condescending coming from Inoue and other Japanese as Christian principals being taught by the missionary priests. There is no denying, however, that "Silence," while often dark, both psychologically and metaphysically, and a tad long at more than two hours 40 minutes, is nevertheless a brilliant production and showcases Scorsese's passion for this theme.
In fact, it's a dream film he has held near his heart for almost two decades and the result of this labor of love shows in the top-notch acting (Garfield, Ogata and Neeson are absolutely superb), wondrous cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto, "The Wolf Of Wall Street," "Passengers" and Scorsese's upcoming, "The Irishman") and historically accurate costume design (Jack Tung, "The Life Of Pi") make this an epic experience and highlights what clashing religions and philosophies can do to innocent people and just how difficult it can be to maintain one's beliefs and morals in an environment of pain, privation and primitivity. Grade: B