Silence

I want to start out by saying that Martin Scorsese is one of my favorite directors.  From ‘Casino’ to ‘Good Fellows,’ from ‘Shutter Island’ to ‘Hugo,’ he has never disappointed me.  So it is with a heavy heart that I must not recommend this movie.  The plot sounded intriguing:  the true story of Portuguese missionaries in Japan in search of their missing mentor at a time when Christianity is outlawed and priests are forbidden.  A lot of people, including me, may not be familiar with this period of history.  It took Scorsese 28 years to bring Shusaku Endo’s acclaimed book to the screen; and the scenery, costumes and cinematography are indeed breath taking.  However, the story of two men hiding and starving for a great deal of the movie doesn’t make for a pleasant viewing experience for the theater goer.  There are scenes after scenes of people being killed in gruesome ways, of the poor peasants suffering and the inability of the two priests, handcuffed by their Jesuit orthodoxy, to actually be of help.  This movie is depressing from beginning to end.  I would wait to see it at home, when you can break up this 160 minute movie into smaller chunks.  I can not fault the acting of Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neesan, Ciaran Hinds or the heartbreaking performance by Tadanobu Asano, the “Johnny Depp” of Japanese Cinema.  His portrayal of the man who seems to worship and yet betray the priests is incredible.  This is the kind of movie that might win some awards, but most people will not want to watch it to find out why.  If I love a  movie, I want to see it again and again; this was not one of those movies.