A Subtle Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (13 January 2017)

Now this was a film I've been giving some time to think about for the past week. I knew that this was my favorite film of the year, but I had a hard time trying to explain why. But now I think I understand. Silence is a film that tackles its ideas and themes mainly through sounds and images, not words. There are definitely a few dialogue heavy scenes, but the scenes that leave the most impact are the ones that linger on the sounds and visuals rather than whats being said. And not only does that approach make this Scorsese's second best film (in my opinion) but also the most powerful and emotionally resonating film of the whole year. Because its not the moments where characters give passionate discussions that I remember the most. Its the haunting images that have embedded into my memory as well the sounds, or the lack there of. Im definitely going to rewatch this when this gets a wider release. I have a feeling this won't be as successful as Scorsese's other films, mostly because its quite lengthy and slowly paced. But I feel that for its slow pacing there isn't a moment where I wasn't engrossed in what was being presented. I absolutely urge everyone to go see this movie, even if you think it might not be your thing. I want go any longer because I feel like I'll just start rambling. Then again, maybe great movies can do that to you. Also shitty movies of course, but luckily this is not a shitty movie.
100/100