{"id":23686,"date":"2017-01-24T17:03:11","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T23:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mbcpathway.local\/?p=23686"},"modified":"2017-01-25T11:10:35","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T17:10:35","slug":"movie-review-silence-shows-brutal-reality-of-persecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbcpathway.com\/2017\/01\/24\/movie-review-silence-shows-brutal-reality-of-persecution\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review \u2018Silence\u2019 shows brutal reality of persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\">\u201cSilence\u201d is a clever title for this wholly remarkable film. It can refer to the hushed tones of two missionaries hiding in a secret room. I suppose it could also refer to the fear that keeps the 17th century Japanese believers worshipping in underground house churches. Or maybe it\u2019s referencing the stony, wordless resolve those who refuse to recant their faith. It can even refer to the stunning, minimalist sound track, which features no music, and is content to let the credits roll to nothing but crickets. Finally, a central character suggests it references God\u2019s apparent indifference to his suffering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">Whatever the meaning of the title and whatever theology quabbles you may have with the movie (and you will have some), \u201cSilence,\u201d directed by Martin Scorsese, is a powerful film I cannot recommend enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">It is the arresting story of two Portuguese Catholic missionaries (Andrew Garfield of \u201cHacksaw Ridge\u201d as Father Rodrigues and Adam Driver of \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens\u201d as Father Garupe) and their journey to 1630s Japan. Their goal is two-fold: determine the state of Christianity in the islands and discover the fate of the long-lost Father Ferreria (Liam Neeson). Once they arrive, they are joyously accepted by the underground remnants of Japanese Christians, though they live in constant fear of sword-wielding Shogun inquisitors who specialize in torture methods I\u2019ve never even heard of.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">When they are inevitably discovered, believers have a choice: a long, painful death or \u201ckorobu,\u201d the public renouncing of their faith. One priest has a<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>response you and I would more or less find acceptable, while the other does not; I\u2019ll not spoil who is who.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">The plot is more complex than this \u2013especially when we learn Ferreria\u2019s fate \u2013 but to say more would ruin it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">Though the underground churches here are made up of 17th century Catholics, it is impossible not to think of faithful present-day believers meeting in secret in China, Iran, and other lands without religious freedom. The joy on the persecuted\u2019s faces as they realize someone has come to teach and lead them is humbling. May we have the same passion for the Great Commission as is voiced by Rodrigues and Garupe, and the same resolve and determination not to forsake the Gospel as the local Christians.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">Other scenes remind me of stories from our own missionaries overseas: the local leader whose simple faith humbles and dwarfs the missionary\u2019s own; the linguistic troubles with translating the Gospel (apparently, early missionaries in Japan mistranslated \u201cSon of God\u201d as \u201csun of God,\u201d causing understandable confusion); the struggle to find a \u201cperson of peace\u201d in a place the inquisitors call a \u201cswamp where your Christian doctrine can not take root.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">While the ending may not be as I wished, \u201cSilence\u201d is a worthy work of art for Christians to see and discuss. Based on the 1966 novel by Shusaku Endo, the particular plot is fiction, but it is based in reality and the true persecution that missionaries and Christians faced in after the Shimabara Rebellion in feudal Japan. Self-professed \u201clapsed Catholic\u201d Scorcese is restrained but brutally honest and stark in his depictions of torture and persecution, and the effect is gripping. The finished product is intense and beautiful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">Garfield and Driver are both stupendous in their roles, but the two standouts, are Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka), the priests\u2019 constantly confessing Japanese guide and Inoue (Issei Ogata), the grand inquisitor. Kichijiro is the living embodiment of a new believer whose spirit is willing but flesh is weak. The inquisitor, on the other hand, is a chilling voice constantly offering seemingly reasonable justification to renounce one\u2019s faith and \u201cstep on Jesus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s3\">\u201cSilence\u201d is rated R, but there is zero sexual content, zero bad language, and though there is torture, it is not overly bloody or gratuitous (save one swing of a katana sword). I would have zero problems taking teens to see the movie, and I would look forward to the ensuing discussions regarding the reality of suffering for one\u2019s faith in Christ and the rightness of characters\u2019 choices when compared to Scripture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whatever the meaning of the title and whatever theology quabbles you may have with the movie (and you will have some), \u201cSilence,\u201d directed by Martin Scorsese, is a powerful film I cannot recommend enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_selected_social_profile":[]},"categories":[177,19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Movie Review \u2018Silence\u2019 shows brutal reality of 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