I'd like to preface this review by stating that I saw this film through the eyes of a believer in God. With that said, this is arguably one of the more challenging films I've ever seen about Christianity.
Set in 17th Century Japan, during a time when people are killed for being Christians, this story shows the lengths on how far people would go to stop the spread of Christianity, and how far people would go to practice Christianity even if in secret. While the argument about whether the Japanese people of that era should believe in the Christian God or not are put in the forefront here, the answer the movie gives us is deceivingly more complicated than it may superficially seem. It definitely opens things up for interpretation, but being that Director Martin Scorsese is a Catholic, there is still a little bit of bias shown here in favor of being a believer.
Visually the film is spectacular to look at, with many gorgeous settings to admire. The minimalist musical score works really well too, especially considering the name of the movie. As for the story itself, it's historically epic, and quite the experience to go through. The premise seems simple and straightforward enough, but it gets more and more complicated as it progresses. The feeling of oppression and persecution, to the struggle of keeping the faith, are just some of the primary themes shown to us. There's also a lot of plot points that will likely get a strong emotional reaction, and some scenes will even play out differently among different people because of the subject matter.
At the primary center of this story is the Christian Missionary Father Rodrigues; played by Andrew Garfield. He is our surrogate character that we are suppose to experience this journey with, and I would go so far to say that Scorsese himself is reflecting on his own faith through Rodrigues. Wow what an incredible acting performance by Andrew Garfield here, in a very emotionally powerful role. Along with Garfield, the supporting cast are also terrific in this, from Adam Driver, Yosuke Kubozuka, Issei Ogata, and Liam Neeson. Keep in mind that the main point of view of the narration is through Father Rodrigues' eyes, so you won't have the luxury of getting many alternative plot perspectives from the rest of the huge Japanese cast of characters.
As an adaptation of the 1966 novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo, and arguably also a remake of the 1971 Japanese film adaptation, Martin Scorsese went all out here to create one of the best work he has ever done in his life. It truly feels like a personal passion project, with a deliberate vision, and definitely the work of a master film maker. I should mention that this film does have a run time of 2 hours and 41 minutes, so it'll really ask a lot from an audience that might just find the whole thing slow and boring. Personally, it kept my immediate attention all the way through, and I wouldn't have minded if it was even longer.
LOVED IT enjoyedititsokayitsmehitsterrible
