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I’m a huge fan of director Martin Scorsese's films. If you’ve seen his work, then you know the guy has a certain signature style that makes his films unique. Well, his latest film, Silence, is completely different from anything he’s ever done before in terms of the story and how it is presented. He threw his signature style out the window for this film and gave us one of the best and most thought-provoking films that he’s ever made. It’s like he completely reinvented himself as a filmmaker for Silence, and I was completely blown away!
Silence was a stunning, beautifully made film that told an utterly brutal story of faith being tested to the absolute extremes. The film is brutal in both its sense of suffering and violence as well as its silence and meditative stillness. For those of you who have faith in something, I’m sure it’s been tested in different ways throughout your life. I know mine has, but it’s never been tested like what we see in this film. I honestly don’t know what I would do in the situation that these Christian missionaries find themselves in.
Silence is based on the 1966 novel by Shusaku Endo, and the story follows two Christian missionaries who travel to Japan on a journey to search for their missing mentor who is said to have apostatized. This is during a time in the 17th century when Christianity was outlawed in Japan and the presence of missionaries was forbidden.
On the moment of arrival, the two missionaries, played by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, are thrust into a situation where Japanese Christians are begging for priests to teach them, and they are sent into hiding. What follows is an intense story of seeing these Christians hunted down, tortured, and killed. As this is happening the missionaries are trying to hold on to their faith and are forced to make difficult choices with consequences of life or death.
The attention to detail in bringing this old world of Japan back to life to tell this story left me in awe. Scorsese and his creative team didn't miss any details, and they made sure that this movie felt 100% authentic. I also have to mention that the cinematography was absolutely beautiful.
Garfield, Driver, and Liam Neeson all give tremendous performances. They really had to sink deep into the characters they play in this story. I don’t even know what they had to do to prepare themselves for these characters, but damn… they explode with power and despair on screen. The film also has an insanely talented supporting Japanese cast including Tadanobu Asano, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Yôsuke Kubozuka, Issei Ogata, and Yoshi Oida.
Scorsese has been developing this film for over 28 years, and he finally made it happen. He should be proud of the end result, because this film is a masterful work of art that is incredibly powerful. This isn’t the kind of film that you can categorize as liking or not liking, it’s a contemplative experience that you will take with you after you leave the theater.
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