SILENCE: NO DIRECTOR COMPARES TO MARTIN SCORSESE

From the Detroit Free Press

Breathtaking scenery of the Taiwan coast, Martin Scorsese’s film Silence is a panorama of loveliness and history as it tells the story of the two Christian missionaries who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor Fr. Ferriera – especially at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden in the 1600s. It was often during the use of efumi, that priests would fold and whereby suspected Christians were ordered to trample on an image of Jesus Christ to preserve their lives and stop the heinous torture inflicted upon them.

Rolling Stone says it best: No one with a genuine belief in the possibilities and mysteries of cinema would think of missing Silence. It's essential film-making from the church of Scorsese, a modern master who lives and breathes in the images he puts on screen. The fate of this film will depend on what it does or doesn't open up in you. The issues it raises aren't meant to go down easy. Heaven and hell, brute nature and healing grace all have a place in forging faith as Scorsese sees it.

The film is almost 3 hours and passes quickly even for the faint of heart like me. I enjoyed the camera angles, cast, stunt people, actors, plot and of course those who work so laboriously in the "dark room" putting the whole thing together. Plus, I love the scenery which I appreciate as a trip planner. Silence novel impressed Scorsese and he was dedicated to making a movie of it, which is brilliant.

This film was considered a low budget at $28 million and everyone including the producers took a pay cut as the making of the film was an act of passion -- the signature of the movie. Blessings to Scorsese who was the first to accept the salary reduction, work overtime and did everything he could to get this film off the ground and onto the silver screen

I've had a pulse on Scorsese making this film for years. Any director who makes a movie about Jesuits makes a dedicated film because that is the nature of the priests and brothers. Dedication. I have the utmost respect for Jesuits. Of all of the religious orders, I never heard the many Jesuits I knew and know ever say that they "felt" like becoming a priest. Oh no. It was a very definite: "I was called and I remember the day exactly." They have a fierce determination that inspires great admiration. And, they walk their talk. Impressive. And, most of all, not easy for them but they do it.

Even the main actors "learned" how to be Jesuits, if I can be so brazen to say that.

Bearded actor-priest Andrew Garfield told the New York Times that his preparation went on for a year and it ended with him visiting a seven-day silence retreat at St. Bueno's Jesuit house in Wales, which he admitted saw him get "totally swept up in all things Jesuit and very taken with Jesuit spirituality."

Emaciated for the role, Adam Driver also confessed to the publication that he dropped fifty-one pounds for his role, and even visited the same retreat as Garfield at the same time. It wasn't easy for him at all especially combined with dysentery that he suffered while filming.

The films briefly mentions St. Francis Xavier, one of the leaders of the newly founded Society of Jesus, who arrived in 1549, and within two years he won a thousand converts. Japan is “the delight of my heart,” he declared, “the country in the Orient most suited to Christianity.” Other missionaries tried to follow in his footsteps eager to do the same.

The other thing that really impressed me about the movie, were the long list of credits -- the huge numbers of people who worked on this film, mainly Asian. And, the punctuating names of Jesuit priests who were right there with them consulting constantly.

I was really bummed that the Golden Globes snubbed the movie, and one of the greatest film directors of our time. But what do they know as they are so immersed in being politically correct and into all the hype, violence and nudity that most films portray to draw in movie-goers.

Oh, handsome Liam Neelson who plays Fr. Ferreira gave his short role all he had with his rich and stunning gestures and soothing voice to fit the role. He alludes to what wasn't mentioned. Of course, the film didn't show that Fr. Ferreira recanted his "apostate" position to the Japanese and died a martyr.

The final scene shows the beauty and deep reverence of the spirituality and lack of it in Japan at a time when the Jews were ousted from Germany and the Christian Muslims were tossed out of Spain. It's hard to remember what you were taught in grade school let alone put it into perspective in today's fast-paced world. But go see Silence with an open mind and heart.

"It is, in short, a novel for most of us, most of the time, as we wend our way between heaven and earth with our longing souls and our feet of clay," said Luke Reinsma, Professor of English at Seattle Pacific University.