Silence * * * 1/2

The Japanese give a lesson to the Sunday School teachers.

Silence is nearly three hours long, which is a bit of a test on the viewers buttocks and bladder, so you can’t really blame anyone for copping out (as did a couple of people at the showing I went to). But I say stick around, because the last forty minutes are really good!  

    Silence is the latest film from Martin Scorsese.  There has always been a bit of a Catholic theme to his work but in Silence he goes over the top.
Set in the seventeenth century  it’s about a couple of Jesuit priests who volunteer to go to a strange country called Japan where a previous priest (Liam Neeson) has gone apostate or has  died.  They are to find out what has happened to him and bring him back into the fold, or continue his good work if he is dead. Shades of Apocalypse Now, hey?

    With their dubious guide the two priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) are warmly welcomed by the oppressed Christians who live in absolute secrecy. They haven’t had a confession for years and they’re busting to tell the priests about their misdemeanors and get some absolution.  

    The Japanese authorities don’t like Christians. Considering that they have an intelligent, advanced belief system of their own I can’t say I blame them.   I know torture is a bit extreme but you can understand why they discourage these troublesome Christians and their crazy priests who only bring disruption to their society.

    The Japanese have an authority called the Inquisitor and he’s really funny, he really is, he is almost a parody (Tarantino could have invented him).  He asks the priests some very ticklish questions indeed.  He also has a “test”. He puts a pressed metal Christian icon on the floor and tells the suspected Christians they have to step on it. The priests and the Christians get all upset about stepping on the metal icon - damned by their own if they do, and damned by the Japanese authorities if they don’t.   But all this is very long winded and somewhat repetitive to be honest.

    However In the the last 40 minutes we discover what has happened to the missing priest, and the philosophical and theological arguments that come out of that are fascinating and make it worth sitting through the longest lead up ever.

   It’s quite a talky film and much of it is interior or on small sets. There are no explosions or battles, so you might wonder where did the forty million dollars go.  I don’t know, but the whole thing is visually beautiful if that explains anything.