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well I've long been a fan of the films
of Martin Scorsese go back to the 70s
80s 90s films like taxi driver
Goodfellas Raging Bull Last Waltz in
many ways his movies have defined
American cinema the past many decades in
fact the very first youtube video I ever
did back in 2007 was on Scorsese's film
The Departed so I've been watching him
for a long time his most recent movie
much talked about is silence
based on the shukaku endo novel of the
same name
and like all Scorsese's movies it's got
gorgeous cinematography it's got great
acting and both the lead and supporting
roles and it's thematically complex to
the point that we'll be talking about it
for the next you know hundred years so
it's a movie I would I would warmly
recommend that people see those who have
read the novel know the basic plot lines
and involved he's too young a Jesuit
priests we're set by the way in the mid
17th century in Japan when the church is
going through a time of terrible
persecution these two young Jesuits
played by Andrew Garfield and Adam
driver are sent to Japan to find out
what's going on with their great Jesuit
mentor and teacher father Ferreira rumor
has it that Ferrer has been captured
that he's actually apostatized and gone
over to the Japanese side and the two
young men just can't believe it and
they've been sent to find out what's
going on so after a number of adventures
they arrive in Japan they're taken in by
an extraordinary group of people these
lay people lay a Japanese Christians who
over many many decades despite the
absence of priests have kept the faith
alive and they are overjoyed that these
priests have come and now they see their
task as as hiding them protecting them
so things go on for a little while
they're able to minister in kind of a
clandestine way but eventually the
authorities get wind of the presence of
these priests
and their strategy is very clever it's
to go after the lay people first in the
hopes of luring the priests out into the
open so the lay people are arrested and
they are tortured but they prove heroic
in their resistance
maybe the most affecting scene in the
movie most memorable for me anyway
is this crucifixion scene so three of
the great leaders of the lay Catholic
community in Japan are crucified by the
seashore and then the the tide very
gradually comes in and basically in the
course of three or four days these
people are are drowned in this really
horrific manner and then when their
bodies are taken down there they're
burned on the seashore and for all the
world they look like a holocaust offered
to the Lord well in time the priests
themselves are captured and they are
subjected to a similar kind of torture
both physical but mostly psychological
and what they do is they tie it to the
suffering of their people a saint Oh
father if only you cave in and what they
want them to do is to step on this image
of Jesus as a sign of their renunciation
of their Christian faith father just
give in just step on this even in a
formal way don't even mean in your heart
just do it and we will release your
friends from their suffering so that's
the way they're being basically tortured
the film focuses on father Rodriguez
who's played by Andrew Garfield and for
a long time he resists he heroically
resists despite this terrible pressure
of torture one of the decisive scenes a
real turning point is when he is brought
into the presence now a father Ferreira
the man that he's come to find he
discovers that all the rumors are true
that Ferrera has this hero is Jesuit
hero has in fact gone over to the other
side has renounced his Christian faith
has taken a Japanese name a Japanese
wife and is now functioning as a kind of
philosopher on the on the public payroll
and Ferrara then and I think devastating
scene tries to convince this young
missionary you know given this is I I
resisted for time but it wasn't worth it
I caved in
you should cave into devastating from a
psychological standpoint what this young
priest is being put through at the end
of the interview Ferrara again who was
sent as a heroic Jesuit you know
missionary says it just won't take in
this country this country's like a swamp
it won't receive the seed of
Christianity anyway
Rodriguez continues to resist continue
to resist until finally in this decisive
moment he does cave in again under the
pressure of torture and and with his
people being torture and look just just
do it and we'll release them and so in
this terrible moment he does step on the
image of Jesus and with that we hear a
[ __ ] crow and so it's the symbol we know
from st. Peter's betrayal of the Lord
that this is in fact the trail even
though Rodriguez hears a voice that he
takes to be the voice of Jesus saying do
it go ahead it's okay
you know and that's one of the great
questions and live in the book and the
movies is that the voice of Jesus is
that his own voice is it the voice of
the devil I mean we don't know but when
he does step on the image the [ __ ] crows
which to me is is endows way and
Scorsese believed it too but endows way
of saying this is an act of betrayal
anyway the story concludes in a kind of
devastating way because you see that
Rodriguez walks the path of Ferrara all
the way he does renounce his faith he's
called upon on a regular basis you're in
you're out to do it and he does he steps
on the image and again renounces his
faith eventually he takes a Japanese
name takes a Japanese wife and he and
Ferrara in fact conspire with the
government to keep all Christian symbols
and all that out of Japan he dies at the
age of 64 I think we're told to the old
man and
he's buried in a Buddhist ceremony the
last scene in the movie and this is a
Scorsese touch actually he's not in the
novel the camera actually goes into the
into the coffin and you see the corpse
of Regas holding a little tiny crucifix
so I guess we're meant to believe OK in
some way this tortured soul remained a
Christian even to the end so that's how
the movie ends you say okay what do I
make of this this complicated strange
unnerving story well I mean ice totally
guy read the novel years ago I totally
get the beauty of showing that you know
the rich complexity of that time the
different pressures all these people
were under but I'll tell you the truth
was kind of bugging me in the wake of
the movie was a lot of the commentary in
religious circles which put a huge
stress on this theme of complexity
ambiguity how difficult how multivalent
faith is and so on here's my problem I
think all of us talk about ambiguity and
multi valence and difficulty and
vacillation and conflict is is in
service of a cultural elite that likes
it's Christianity just that way now let
me get a little comparison here to make
my point and the comparison is inspired
by a certain Ignatius of Loyola the
founder of the Jesuits right who had
been a soldier and if you know the
Jesuit spirituality it's a soldier's
spirituality well imagine a group of
Special Ops I'll say from our country
who are sent after being highly trained
for the mission they're sent behind
enemy lines some they're met by loyal
people on the ground who at the risk of
their own lives support them in the
mission the the people on the ground are
eventually captured but they are
faithful they don't give in they don't
give up the mission and they're put to
death then in time the Special Ops
themselves are captured tortured and
they give in they betray the mission and
in
in the course of many decades thereafter
they become paid supporters of the enemy
how would we read that I doubt sincerely
anyone's going to say how rich and
multivalent and complex their patriotism
and my guess is fully understand and I
get it under torture what people do but
I don't think a lot of people would be
singing their praises they would see
them as as traitors to the cause see
again I think the cultural elite in
Japan that's displayed in the movie
that's what they wanted see they wanted
a Christianity that was divided and
splintered and unsure and vacillating
that they wanted that it served their
purpose which is why they supported
Ferrera and Rodriguez for all these
decades why they gave them you know
wives and homes and money and jobs and
status they wanted to display that
Christianity well see I'm afraid that
the cultural elite today wants and
celebrates the same kind of Christianity
you know hey Christianity that's okay as
long as it's vacillating unsure
privatized harmless now go to that last
scene cuz I know people say oh are you
being fair to Rodriguez he does have
that little crucifix in his hand yeah
okay okay maybe he was in some deeply
interior way still a Christian but again
that's what they like that's the kind of
Christianity they want hidden away
private harmless so here's what I was
saying conclusion you know maybe okay a
strangled half cheer for Rodriguez's
Christianity but I'll tell you I'll give
a full-throated three cheers to those
heroic laypeople that kept the faith
alive over many years and who died a
horrific death defending their faith I
know the culture elite of that time and
our time will look down on that as well
the poor things god bless
three cheers for them I say
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