Silence (2016)

This movie has been Scorsese's passion project that he has literally been trying to get made for over two decades. It is an introspective movie that asks the big questions about religion. I didn't know that Scorsese was so deep into religion. It's no simple praise god kind of movie. It is not so unilateral. It is a huge, challenging movie. You can tell that he must think about spirituality a lot.

The movie is beautiful. Torture and death never looked so stunning. The cinematography is definitely a standout. When you have two and a half excruciatingly painful hours, it better look good. It's a lot to take. It batters you emotionally and mentally. It is not easy to watch, but I couldn't look away.

The acting is very good too. Andrew Garfield plays a Jesuit priest (another religious character in Japan, coincidentally similar to his role in Hacksaw Ridge this year).  He is the protagonist but I actually wish Adam Driver had a bigger role (proportionally), because I think he was very good, even better than Garfield. Issey Ogata plays the grand inquisitor. When you first hear his rather high pitched voice, he sounds like a caricature of a Japanese person speaking English. I don't think that is intentional, that might just be how he talks? I'm not sure, but it's worth drawing attention to at least.

The movie had me thinking a lot about religion naturally. What the Japanese did to the Christians was obviously terrible. And you can't compare tragedies. But I found myself recalling the Spanish Inquisition, in which the violence and torture was reversed. It is terrible, but it is certainly not unique to the Japanese, as the Christians too committed atrocious acts (in the name of God, compared to the logical but perhaps unsound reasoning of the Japanese). They speak in competing metaphors that keep the questions coming. And in the end, there are no answers, just more questions. It is a fascinating movie that will continue to marinate in my mind.