Silence

Parental Rating: R

Contains: Violence    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Limited opening in December. Wide Release January 13, 2017.

Runs 141 minutes

In Seventeenth Century Japan, Christianity is outlawed. Even Christian relics are forbidden. But, two Jesuit priests, Garrpe (Adam Driver) and Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) must travel into Japan to find their mentor Ferreira (Liam Neeson) and help spread the word of Christ along the way. They face persecution, violence and death as they search for Ferreira. They are amazed by the Faith of the Japanese people they encounter. Although, as they see more and more brutality against these secret Christians, they begin to question their Faith. Is God really there when all you hear is Silence?

There is a good movie buried in this movie. I felt that overall the movie was beautiful to look at. The acting was great. It is deep and takes a look at Faith - what is faith? Is God there even when we don't hear him? Can we maintain Faith even when all we get is silence from God amid atrocities? These are the questions posed by this film. In the 1600's, Catholic Missionaries went into Japan knowing that it was forbidden for them to be there. The Tokugawa Shogunate was in control and they condemned Catholicism as a sign of Western cuture and control. However, the Japanese people were hungry for something to believe in. Even when they knew they could be put to death, they still hid these missionaries and worshipped with them in secret. I thought from a historical perspecticve, this movie was enlightening. I just thought it took a very long time to get there. It felt very long. There were periods of silence and little action. I think it would appeal to a wider audience if it was shorter. That being said, it does a great job at depicting people willing to be put to death for their Faith. And, people that maybe gave up on God because of his ultimate silence. There are several ways to interpret the ending. I choose to believe that even in the Silence, God is always with us. If you like Martin Scorsese and this sounds interesting to you, then go see it.

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