Heart of Darkness

Rating: 8/10 (21 May 2017)

I feel inadequate to make a really intelligent analysis of this film. Not being able to embrace the essence of seventeenth century Catholicism and the mission in Japan, I will only comment on the sense this film gave me. I understand that the two men at the center of "Silence" are incredibly pious, wishing to save the soul of their mentor. But they are also pretty naive in their approach. Somehow, they feel they can take on centuries of hatred for their religion, armed only with their faith. They also have no idea how torture and the fear of death could lead to apostasy. Liam Nisson's character succumbs to it and so the object of their purpose has had time to settle into his newfound comfort. He could be seen as a coward; or one could see him as a fact of life. Speaking of life, while Martin Scorsese is one of my top five directors all time, this really plods along as repetitious and lacking in any kind of unresolved conflict. Mercifully, we are finally led to face to face we have been waiting for. I felt relief rather than excitement as this was finally here. I suppose one who is a little short on religious fervor might say that when you invade someone else's territory, you run the risk of playing by their rules eventually. This is a striking film, but, for me, not one I will remember long. There are graphic scenes of torture and violence, but they are sort of detached from our immediate experience.