Other than documentaries and other odds and ends, Martin Scorsese’s films may be divided into two distinct categories. First, there are the big, flashy, splashy titles, from MEAN STREETS and TAXI DRIVER in the 1970s to THE WOLF OF WALL STREET four years ago. Then there are the quieter, more introspective films, including KUNDUN and THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, which examine various aspects of religion. And you can add to the second list SILENCE, Scorsese’s latest. The words that come to mind to describe SILENCE are: intense; serious; and sobering.
SILENCE is set in Japan in the 17th century. Jesuit priests and missionaries have been coming to Japan to spread their faith, and the Buddhists who are in control are not at all pleased. To them, Catholicism is a “secret faith,” an “outlaw faith.” So they are torturing and even beheading the outsiders as well as the Japanese who now must live in fear of the Buddhists because they have been converted, they have accepted Christ.
The central characters in SILENCE are two Portuguese padres, played by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver. Both men are genuinely devoted to their religion. At one point, one of them observes that God “prepares a place for us all”; at another, the other padre asks, “What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ?” The story follows what happens when the two are smuggled into Japan to search for their mentor, who has been missing for years. Is he still alive, or has he died? And certainly, his plight and fate are at the core of the story.
While watching SILENCE, I could not help but compare the scenario to the present day. Here in the U.S., there are those who distrust all Muslims. This may be out of the fear that some of them could be terrorists, but they also are different-- and this difference translates into dread. However, in SILENCE, Scorsese is reminding us that, once upon a time, Catholics were despised in certain parts of the world, and they suffered greatly because of their acceptance of Christ. Yet at the same time, is it right and just for the proponents of one faith to feel that they must convince others to embrace that faith, as if all other religions are somehow bogus, or meaningless?
Here is yet another aspect of human behavior that spans the centuries, and that is examined by Scorsese. A person may commit a horrible sin, may sell another’s soul for a few coins, and then he will beg for forgiveness, as if that forgiveness will make everything okay.
But most telling of all, perhaps, Scorsese explores the meaning of religion and its importance in individual lives. Now it seems to me that, these days, given the less-than-idyllic state of the world, countless individuals are desperately seeking detectable signs of faith. And in SILENCE, Scorsese is posing some questions that directly relate to this reality. They only begin with: What is faith? What does it mean to have faith? Does having faith somehow give the individual strength? And also, how much is one willing to sacrifice for one’s faith. Indeed, there is much to contemplate in Scorsese’s SILENCE.
Rob Edelman has authored or edited several dozen books on film, television, and baseball. He has taught film history courses at several universities and his writing has appeared in many newspapers, magazines, and journals. His frequent collaborator is his wife, fellow WAMC film commentator Audrey Kupferberg.
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