Silence

"Silence" is a film about faith and culture and the ways in which one can slam against the other. It's set in the 1600s as a mostly-closed Japan is visited by Roman Catholic missionaries, building small cults of "hidden christians". Two priests follow the trail of their mentor, who has apparently denied the faith, and find themselves in the middle of a japanese version of the inquisition, witness to brutal acts as those in charge seek to chase out an invading faith. 

In some ways this is a difficult film to get into - neither of the two priests are necessarily sympathetic characters as they are, in effect, seeking to impose a foreign culture on Japan. Andrew Garfield takes the lead here, and he does capture a certain sense of naive fanaticism - Adam Driver's priest drops out of the main narrative too frequently and is strangely underwritten. Liam Neeson as the mentor has strong impact when he shows up late in the action. 

There's a combination of beauty and brutality in the setting that makes this intriguing to watch, even if the theological underpinning may not be entirely the kind of thing I'd automatically chase. In mood, it's probably closest to Scorcese's "Kundun" or "Last Temptation of Christ" - a film directly about faith that refuses to either confirm or deny that faith, presented with simplicity and care. 

This is one of those films where I can be impressed by the work without ever quite loving it - it's a very well thought out and dwelt upon film that doesn't capture my heart. I can't say people shouldn't see this, but I can't say that it's an automatic recommend either.