Not the easiest movie to watch. The persecution of Christianity in Japan during the 17th Century was brutal. Martin Scorsese takes that on that disturbing subject matter with Silence. It is based on Shûsaku Endô's novel of the same name (it was also done previously as a film in the early 1970s).
No, it is not Goodfellas or Taxi Driver or even Last Temptation of Christ (although it shares some of the same themes of the later), but it is one of Scorsese's best films. It is powerfully done. While not for everyone (some won't get it), this is a movie you can think about for a long time.
Andrew Garfield's performance is amazing. Garfield was superb in Hacksaw Ridge, but this performance was just as good (if not better). Adam Driver is impressive. Liam Neeson and Ciarán Hinds, while not in the film very much at all, were (as usual) great.
The Japanese actors really shine. Yosuke Kubozuka, who plays Kichijiro give one of the better performances of human weakness. Tadanobu Asano, as the interpreter, and Issei Ogata, as Samurai Inoue are excellent.
Rotten Tomatoes: Silence
Is Silence based on a true story?
Silence: Novel vs. Film (spoilers, as you would expect)
No, it is not Goodfellas or Taxi Driver or even Last Temptation of Christ (although it shares some of the same themes of the later), but it is one of Scorsese's best films. It is powerfully done. While not for everyone (some won't get it), this is a movie you can think about for a long time.
Andrew Garfield's performance is amazing. Garfield was superb in Hacksaw Ridge, but this performance was just as good (if not better). Adam Driver is impressive. Liam Neeson and Ciarán Hinds, while not in the film very much at all, were (as usual) great.
The Japanese actors really shine. Yosuke Kubozuka, who plays Kichijiro give one of the better performances of human weakness. Tadanobu Asano, as the interpreter, and Issei Ogata, as Samurai Inoue are excellent.
Rotten Tomatoes: Silence
Is Silence based on a true story?
Silence: Novel vs. Film (spoilers, as you would expect)
The only other shining example of the Christian persecution in Japan was in Shogun, but it more portrayed Christians as conniving schemers instead of paragons of virtue.
ReplyDeletePeople are people. While there was Jesuit Portuguese scheming and the Japanese were (wisely) cautious about European colonial powers, a lot of innocent people got the shaft, or the blade, or the cross, as the case may be.
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