https://world.wng.org/2016/12/silence_of_the_sheepHappy Christmas Eve 2016. I was struck that Martin Scorsese has released a new film "Silence" which is based on the radical persecution of Christians in feudal 17th century Japan. Liam Neeson is an interesting actor to me - he portrays a Jesuit mentor in this film which was released to limited theaters on December 23, 2016.
The film is based on both history and Shūsaku Endō’s 1966 novel.
This is a difficult film to watch, both in terms of Endō’s complex story and the visual suffering.
"Silence of the sheep
Brutal but beautiful Scorsese film grapples with historic persecution of Christians in Japan
by Emily Belz December 23, 2016
In Martin Scorsese’s new film Silence (rated R for disturbing violent content), two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) travel from Portugal to Japan to find their Jesuit mentor (Liam Neeson), who has reportedly apostatized. There they encounter the intense persecution that Christians in that closed country faced in the 17th century. In both history and Shūsaku Endō’s 1966 novel on which the film is based, the ruling samurais at the time subjected any suspected Christians to intense torture and executions if they did not renounce their faith by stepping on a fumi-e, a brass image of Jesus.
Eventually the authorities realized that the martyrdom of Christians was growing the hidden churches, so they adopted a more twisted tactic: capturing church leaders and then torturing and killing other Christians in front of them if they did not renounce their faith by stepping on a fumi-e. The authorities, not trusting apostates to remain so, required them to regularly renounce their faith. This law strictly forbidding Christianity continued in Japan for more than 200 years.
American Christians today are familiar with the idea of underground churches in places like China—but this situation in Japan in the 17th century is particularly extreme. How does faith survive when the government enforces such silence on the church? Does grace cover public apostates, even if they are church leaders? Moviegoers will have their own debates about the expression of faith in an extremely repressive society, but they should keep in mind all of the disciples fled Christ in His hour of need. Christ, not any of us, remains the only perfect example of suffering.
The film focuses on the physical and spiritual suffering of Father Rodrigues (Garfield). The other main character is an “ex” Japanese Christian, Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka), who guides the priests to the hidden Christian communities, where Christians perform their own baptisms in the absence of official church leadership. Between Rodrigues and Kichijiro, Scorsese contrasts portraits of a “strong” faith with a “weak” faith.
Scorsese also confronts the potential for paternalism in missions work—a major concern of those outside the church who see characters like Rodrigues. The Japanese inquisitor, who tees up some laughs in this dark story, argues to Rodrigues at one point that he cannot force Christianity on the country: “You do not know Japan.” Rodrigues returns: “And you, honorable inquisitor, do not understand Christianity.”
Both are right.
This is a difficult film, both in terms of Endō’s complex story and the visual suffering. The violent persecution is vivid, but it doesn’t reach the extreme shock value of a Mel Gibson film. Scorsese shows a crucifixion, a beheading, a drowning, the burning alive of a family, and a torture where Christians were hung upside down with a cut in their necks to slowly bleed to death. Even the awful scenes, like three crucifixions on a beach outside a small town, are beautifully and solemnly rendered. The beach executions call to mind the ISIS execution of 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in 2015.
The tough subject matter likely won’t be enticing to many holiday audiences—the film is in limited release Dec. 23 before going nationwide in January—but it is the most complex cinematic wrestling with persecution I have seen. With attacks on Christian communities around the world, this is a timely story that will stick as a highlight in Scorsese’s canon."