Martin Scorsese's Silence is a quietly brooding, meditative experience, a film that is expansive yet intimate in its deconstruction of organized religion, being in the end a film that is very much about the introspective, personal nature of spirituality and faith. Mature, honest, and quietly menacing, Silence chronicles the trials and tribulations of two Catholic missionaries during the seventeenth century, who travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor, a man who himself has believed to apostatized under the violence and persecution of Japan by the state, which views Catholicism as a plague on the land and its people. Film's touching on religion can be a bit tricky, yet what Scorsese has created with Silence is a deeply respectful, introspective examination of religion, one which is both fair yet critical, while ultimately recognizing the internal, personal aspect of spirtiuality, one which is always inward facing as opposed to extrospective. Quiet yet menacing, Silence is a film that has a sense of tension and danger that is very palpable throughout its running time, detailing the horrendous religious persecution and oppression of christians in Japan. These characters find themselves pushed to the very edge of sanity by the opressive, violent Japanese feudal regime, ultimately leading ot a crisis of faith by those who experience so much pain. Silence recognizes the imperialistic nature of missionaries throughout the film, yet its focus remains on the persecution and violence brought upon those who think differently, with one of its more important tangible qualties being how it laments for more tolerance between various cultures, whether that be the Japanese culture's treatment of Christians or the missionaries utter disregard for the customs and culture they wish to spread their beliefs. Allegiances, whether it be to the church or the state, create a fundamental conflict between individuals in the society in Silence, with the film touching on the utter importance of individualism, tolerance, and freedom, detailing how both these forces tend to conflict with each other, battling for supremacy over the individual. Silence details the tangible quality in which faith and religion has over those individuals who are deeply oppressed or persecuted, capturing the power of hope while also detailing the sadness related to so many dying simply for what they believe is right. The film doesn't pick sides in this, yet it does certainly suggest that religion, at least to some degree, is born from the very fires of violence and pain, exhibiting how those who suffer look for something they can confide in, in order to get by. Silence is the type of film which I imagine requires multiple viewings to unpack all of its thematic threads and ideals, but what stood out the most for me is how the film exhibits the fundamental, individualistic component that makes up faith. Silence details how faith and spirituality is very much a function of introspection and internal thought, being a film that asks for sacrifice, empathy, and selflessness in all individuals, regardless of where they draw their sense of empowerment from. Quietly brooding, introspective, and ultimately meditative about religious persecution and faith, Martin Scorsese's Silence is an expansive yet intimate story of humanity, a film that is honest yet critical of religion while simulatenously understanding that faith, by definition, is an internal, deeply personal thing.
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June 2023
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