NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Nelson Strang Sorry, Marty. I know you're a filmmaking God and you've made some of my favourite films, but you've really messed up here. Looks great, well acted, but just SO dull to watch. It actually took me 6 sittings before I managed to get through this. Just not worth your time. Avoid.

galileosmth I saw Silence on TV. To be brief, the movie is about two, young, 17th century Catholic priests venturing to Japan to find a lost priest. Apparently Catholic priests were not held in high esteem in those days in Japan because the two priests had to go into hiding.I almost turned off the movie at about the half hour point. It was slow going. Eventually it became clear that the priests, and other native Christians, must forsake their religion or die of the Buddhists. To show the priests and the other Christians that they meant business, there was a lot of torturing going on.Anyway, enough. If the viewer is a devout Christian, particularly a Catholic, then the film might have some meaning. It might even be inspirational. To the average joe, it will probably come off as kind of strange. In fact, the inspirational parts for some viewers might seem to other viewers like the actions of the foolish. I was in the latter camp.

Neil Welch Two young Jesuit priests, Rodrigues and Garrpe. secretly arrive in Japan on the very cold trail of Father Ferreira. Japan has been seeking to abolish Christianity by way of mass executions, but there are still pockets of secret Christians. Father Ferreira, it is rumoured, has denied his faith and turned native Japanese - could this deeply disturbing suggestion be true, or is it just a rumour to serve Japanese political ends?I have never before seen a film with the word "apostatised" used once, let alone the number of times it is used in this film. But since apostasy is at the heart of the matter, I suppose that is fair enough.Martin Scorsese sets out to dramatise a true(ish) episode towards the end of the Jesuit priesthood's attempted conversion of Japan, at the point where the Japanese establishment is taking a hard line to stamp it out, and the main method they are using is barbaric physical punishment of the native Christian population as pressure to force the priesthood into publicly denying their faith. This is solid drama material, but Scorsese fails to make a satisfying film of it: large sections are boring and repetitive as the two young priests, admirably played by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, beat themselves up endlessly about how horrible it all is (and, to be fair, they are right) and how God isn't listening to them. The Almighty does chip in a few words towards the end, but they are not terribly helpful.The dramatisation could have been better. The Japanese character Kichijiro repeatedly denies his faith then seeks confession and forgiveness, to the extent that Rodrigues quietly loses any sympathy for him. I kept waiting for this to have a dramatic payoff, but it never did.In fact, for a film which ran for nearly 3 hours, the dramatic heart could have been condensed into half the running time: as it was, I felt nearly as punished as the two priests.The barbarity of punishment is shown but, thankfully, not dwelled upon. But we really didn't need as much footage of the two priests in a bamboo hut with dirty fingernails, bemoaning their lot, as we got. There is a good film in here somewhere, but it badly needed to shed some weight before it went out in public.

anselmdaniel This review contains spoilers.Silence is directed by Martin Scorcese and stars Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver. The movie follows two Portuguese priests in search of their mentor in Japan. Their once respected mentor has rejected the Catholic faith and is now living with a Japanese identity. The two priests travel to Japan to find the hidden Christians and must come to terms with their faith.As a non-religious person, I found Silence to be incredibly thought provoking. The movie grapples with the heavy theme of faith. The movie centers heavily around Andre Garfield's character. He begins the movie realizing his mentor, played by Liam Neeson, has rejected Catholicism and assumed a Japanese identity. It is here that the movie begins the test of faith. Throughout the movie, Catholicism is called into question on Japan. The peasants have their own interpretation of the faith, and ultimately must apostatize in order to save their lives. Those that do renounce the faith may still cling to it in their hearts. The movie asks the question is one still a believer even after forcibly renouncing their faith? It is this question that persists throughout the movie. All of the characters that play a major role are pivotal to this theme. Two of the important scenes comes with the debate with the grand inquisitor and the former mentor. The discussion with the grand inquisitor was an interesting perspective on how both of the characters viewed Christianity. The re-connection with the mentor forced the character to see how Christianity is really treated in Japan by the hidden devout. It forces the viewer and the character to come to terms with how radical the interpretations became with the Japanese peasants' interpretations. It also showed that certain concepts would not work in Japan and how the inquisitor may have been right.Aside from the plot and themes, the directing, editing, acting, and cinematography are all top notch in this movie. This is a gorgeous movie that shows the time and effort that Martin Scorcese put. Andrew Garfield deserves much praise for his fantastic portrayal of Father Sebastian Rodrigues. The Japanese actors do a great job with their foreign accent. The movie shows the age and time period of the movie incredibly well with sets and costumes that appear authentic to the period. The only downside to this movie is perhaps its length. For some audiences, the movie could be repeating the points too much and it can be a slow beginning.Overall I would recommend Silence to any audience member that is a fan of Martin Scorcese or a fan of the themes of faith. The movie took much care to show the struggles of faith in the face of oppression.