Silence - Review
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Yosuke Kabozuka, Tadanobue Asano
Taxi Driver. Raging Bull. Goodfellas. Scorsese is a creator of classics and an undeniable cinematic legend. His last film, The Wolf of Wall Street, a comedy drama highlighting the ugly truth of a life of sex, drugs and excess is a far cry from his latest offering Silence, a sombre story of outlawed Christianity in Japan. These polar opposite premises have only one thing in common - their iconic director. In Scorsese we trust.
In search of their missing mentor Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson), two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) travel to Japan in a time when their faith is outlawed and hence their presence forbidden. Under such testing times, the missionaries beliefs in Christianity are pushed to their extremes.
Silence has been a passion project for the director for over 20 years and Scorsese's vision has now finally found its way to the big screen where it belongs. Scorsese has completed his "trilogy" of religious pictures following The Last Temptation of Christ and Kundun, but Silence features almost none of the auteur's trademark artistic visuals, save for one complex and disorientating camera movement. This relinquishment of aesthetic identity allows for Scorsese's narrative that has been burning in him for over two decades to take centre stage and be at the forefront of acclaim and recognition. That's not to say that the filmmaker and DP Rodrigo Prieto neglect the moving image as the cinematography is as powerful and poetic as the dialogue. Men tied to crucifix-like contraptions as harsh waves break over them until they draw their last breaths. People burned alive for refusing to apotheosise as their fellow villagers reluctantly gaze on. The atrocities committed against those who believed in the Christian faith are not sugarcoated, but there's a beauty to the brutality.
The film's subject matter can be considered quite an inaccessible one that not many cinema-goers will be willing to broach or experience. It's rare these days to come across people with such firm and uncompromising beliefs in nothing, let alone the divisive conversation that is religion. However, Scorsese is unafraid to pose some loaded questions that put everyone, chiefly Priest Rodrigues (Garfield) through the ringer; why does God remain silent when men and women suffer through acts of unthinkable violence in His name? Heavy stuff. And the load isn't lightened by the whopping running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, but the pay-off is wholly rewarding.
Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, two actors known and recognised for their blockbuster franchise roles, truly shed the skin tight lycra and lightsaber images respectively and give a couple of almighty performances. Garfield and Driver do a commendable job at upholding their Portuguese accents, although there are some definite wobbles where their authentic voices break through. Meanwhile, Liam Neeson as the duo's missing mentor adopts his own accent. But he can. He's Liam Neeson. After the two priests are separated, Silence becomes a vehicle to demonstrate and flaunt Garfield's extraordinary talent, captivating the audience every second he is on film. Kabozuka and Asano also give subtle tour-de-force performances and excel in their roles, and their contributions deserve to be remembered in the forthcoming Academy Awards nominations.
An arresting and unflinching tale of religion and the power of belief, Silence is almost too literal with its title as crucial moments aren't scored with music to heighten our state. However, as we bear witness to abhorrent acts of torture and death, the screams and cries ring loud - but the silence that follows is truly deafening.
EB
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Yosuke Kabozuka, Tadanobue Asano
Taxi Driver. Raging Bull. Goodfellas. Scorsese is a creator of classics and an undeniable cinematic legend. His last film, The Wolf of Wall Street, a comedy drama highlighting the ugly truth of a life of sex, drugs and excess is a far cry from his latest offering Silence, a sombre story of outlawed Christianity in Japan. These polar opposite premises have only one thing in common - their iconic director. In Scorsese we trust.In search of their missing mentor Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson), two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) travel to Japan in a time when their faith is outlawed and hence their presence forbidden. Under such testing times, the missionaries beliefs in Christianity are pushed to their extremes.
Silence has been a passion project for the director for over 20 years and Scorsese's vision has now finally found its way to the big screen where it belongs. Scorsese has completed his "trilogy" of religious pictures following The Last Temptation of Christ and Kundun, but Silence features almost none of the auteur's trademark artistic visuals, save for one complex and disorientating camera movement. This relinquishment of aesthetic identity allows for Scorsese's narrative that has been burning in him for over two decades to take centre stage and be at the forefront of acclaim and recognition. That's not to say that the filmmaker and DP Rodrigo Prieto neglect the moving image as the cinematography is as powerful and poetic as the dialogue. Men tied to crucifix-like contraptions as harsh waves break over them until they draw their last breaths. People burned alive for refusing to apotheosise as their fellow villagers reluctantly gaze on. The atrocities committed against those who believed in the Christian faith are not sugarcoated, but there's a beauty to the brutality.
The film's subject matter can be considered quite an inaccessible one that not many cinema-goers will be willing to broach or experience. It's rare these days to come across people with such firm and uncompromising beliefs in nothing, let alone the divisive conversation that is religion. However, Scorsese is unafraid to pose some loaded questions that put everyone, chiefly Priest Rodrigues (Garfield) through the ringer; why does God remain silent when men and women suffer through acts of unthinkable violence in His name? Heavy stuff. And the load isn't lightened by the whopping running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, but the pay-off is wholly rewarding.
Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, two actors known and recognised for their blockbuster franchise roles, truly shed the skin tight lycra and lightsaber images respectively and give a couple of almighty performances. Garfield and Driver do a commendable job at upholding their Portuguese accents, although there are some definite wobbles where their authentic voices break through. Meanwhile, Liam Neeson as the duo's missing mentor adopts his own accent. But he can. He's Liam Neeson. After the two priests are separated, Silence becomes a vehicle to demonstrate and flaunt Garfield's extraordinary talent, captivating the audience every second he is on film. Kabozuka and Asano also give subtle tour-de-force performances and excel in their roles, and their contributions deserve to be remembered in the forthcoming Academy Awards nominations.
An arresting and unflinching tale of religion and the power of belief, Silence is almost too literal with its title as crucial moments aren't scored with music to heighten our state. However, as we bear witness to abhorrent acts of torture and death, the screams and cries ring loud - but the silence that follows is truly deafening.
EB
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