Critics have compared Silence, Martin Scorsese’s latest drama, to his spiritually inclined The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Kundun (1997). But another way of approaching Silence is in relation to Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (2014). A cartoonish black comedy about real-life Wall Street swindler Jordan Belfort, Wolf amplified Scorsese’s filmmaking to the point of self-parody, especially with regard to the movie’s subjects: foulmouthed, macho lowlifes who tease each other, do drugs, treat women like garbage, and commit wanton acts of violence (in this case, financial). In many respects Silence is the complete opposite—a largely meditative historical epic about Portuguese Jesuit priests whose faith is tested as they try to spread Catholicism in 17th-century feudal Japan. But Silence, despite its formal deviations, is very similar to Scorsese’s other works.
As in many Scorsese films, the protagonist turns out to be the most doubtful and dishonest character. Eventually Rodrigues is captured by the Japanese and confronted with the most difficult challenge to his priesthood: either to step publicly on an image of Christ or to watch as others are tortured and killed. Rodrigues is committed to his beliefs, but even early on, his resolve feels sanctimonious and self-serving. In voice-over monologue he betrays his skepticism of salvation and divine intervention, asking, with a trace of bitterness, “God heard their prayers, but did he hear their screams?” The “silence” of the title isn’t just the absence of God in the face of human suffering but also the failure of men to sacrifice themselves when doing so could alleviate others’ misery. Whether or not Rodrigues capitulates to the shogunate, one already questions whether his refusal to denounce God is an act of faith or of narcissism.
Directed by Martin Scorsese
