Martin Scorsese's SILENCE, adapted from Shûsaku Endô's novel of monks in 17th-century Japan, starring Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield, Ken Watanabe, and Adam Driver

i probably sound like a catholic or christian apologist (im not a christian) but i think the movie becomes immeasurably richer if you take stock of what a revolutionary idea christianity was and is in certain contexts--what an incredibly disrupting force it was (for good and ill) and its radical revaluation of human life. seen in that context an image of a japanese peasant refusing to trample (refusing to renounce the meaning and value of his/her own life) and facing actual fucking crucifixion in the ocean, being burned alive ("on fire with faith"), or drowned at sea becomes incredibly powerful--to me anyway.

― ryan, Sunday, January 8, 2017 3:34 PM (eleven months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

gd post

i wish that idea came thru more somehow but idk how itd be done

the '71 film is showing at NYC MoMA today and Sunday (albeit in 16mm, which means that's all they could get)

https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/4282?locale=en

Checked it out of the library to rewatch on this fine holiday weekend.

rewatched the original recently and have to say Scorsese did an incredible job, and maybe improved upon it. begs the question, when he can make films like this, why does he have to make things like Wolf Of Wall Street?

so he can follow it up w/ a billion-dollar deNiro-Pacino film

The Shinoda film looks beautiful but is destroyed by one of the worst performances I have ever sat through. Amazingly the guy seems not to have had a role since.

, why does he have to make things like Wolf Of Wall Street?

the grosses of WOWS and Shutter Island paid for the flop of Silence. I don't see the big deal -- dat's Hollywood, Jack.

Oh and Endō co-wrote the screenplay but did not sanction the ending Shinoda chose

I wish the novel were longer.

I was fine with the movie not being longer.

the movie was great though

Yep.

i like that the novel is compact tbh, a virtue that more writers should embrace

I've not seen this, but every time I see the thread title it reminds me of the Paul Mooney review of The Last Samauri.

i’ve been thinking about this movie lately

maybe need to see it again

My boring opinion is it's my favourite he done

It's one of his best

final shot is all-time

I'd totally given up on him after hugo and the wolf of shite street, then he directs two career-best movies in a row.

the Masahira Shinoda version is up there with Marty's too

I tried watching this but bailed out halfway through. Somewhat tedious.

Give it another chance.

I just read the entire thread, it was ten times more enlightening than watching the film.
Scorsese's interest in religious topics is painfully sincere and obvious but I don't think his skill set matches his aims, none of the three religious films he's made work. The final shot in this is warmed-over Tarkovsky.
Stylistically, Scorsese tries to restrain his expressionist tendencies, but what results looks like a particularly slow "serious" European co-production directed by someone like Roland Joffé.

How does the painful sincerity and obviousness show itself in Silence?

I’m sure I said this earlier in the thread, but Silence moved me.

top 5 Scorsese

How does the painful sincerity and obviousness show itself in Silence?

Just that it's obvious that he's working over deeply considered beliefs and trying to communicate them, the film wasn't made just to win a bunch of awards or to kill time.