silence film

[Shaolen]

I was very excited to see this movie. I’ve never read (or even heard of) the book but the trailer looked interesting and was thrilled that a big time Oscar bait director like Martin Scorsese was making a movie about the Japanese martyrs.

After having watched the film however I’m very disappointed. Rather than a movie about the courageous martyrs dying for the faith, it was a movie about a man somewhat losing his faith and coming to grips with the choice of apostasy.

The movie to me seems to promote a sense of relativism, a need to privatize your faith, the idea that missionary work is immoral and that this life is valued above the next. Am I overlooking something in this movie? Are there any redeeming qualities that shows the truth of catholic morality?

 

[ClearWater]

Really? I haven’t seen it, yet, but was planning to, thinking it would be about people being martyred for the faith. I’m glad you told me. Now, I don’t know if I’ll bother seeing it if it’s to glorify apostasy.

 

[Shaolen]

Really? I haven’t seen it, yet, but was planning to, thinking it would be about people being martyred for the faith. I’m glad you told me. Now, I don’t know if I’ll bother seeing it if it’s to glorify apostasy.

That’s at least what it seems on the surface. I’m hoping I’m just missing a deeper meaning to it. I read bishop Robert Barron’s review and he had the same take I had on it. I did however read SDG’s review (m.ncregister.com/daily-news/sdg-reviews-silence#.WHRG3djn-9s) and I feel a little bit better, but still.

 

[Dwyer]

I’m not going to pay $ for a ticket to see a movie and sit through a Zen koan directed by Mr. Scorsese who made a movie called ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ in 1988 and so this guy can fill his bank account off of me.

If you want to hand your $$ over to Mr. Scorsese and financially support him and his bank account in return for 90 minutes or so of entertainment, that’s your decision.

I encourage people not to go see whatever anti-religious, violent or full of sex films Mr. Scorsese makes:

Mother Angelica, a Catholic nun and foundress of Eternal Word Television Network, described Last Temptation (of Christ) as “the most blasphemous ridicule of the Eucharist that’s ever been perpetrated in this world” and "a holocaust movie that has the power to destroy souls eternally.[15]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_(film)

I really cannot comprehend why some Catholic clergy and Catholic intellectuals are promoting this turkey of a film; especially from a director who made ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ in 1988 and has made films full of graphic violence and sex. :sad_yes:

Movie Review from the Forward:

This is the gut-wrenching climax of “Silence,” and one which reflects the many paradoxes of Scorsese’s latest essay on faith. Many have already compared the film to “The Last Temptation of Christ,” except that this time, Scorsese has had an audience with the pope (a Jesuit himself) and is beloved of Christian conservatives, rather than condemned by them.

Yet “Silence” is actually far more heretical than “Last Temptation,” which included a sequence of Jesus fantasizing about a normal life with Mary Magdalene while he hung dying on the cross. This was Satan’s final temptation – a life of normalcy – and Christ passes the test, sacrificing himself, fulfilling his destiny.

Rodriguez does the opposite. After his apostasy, he gains exactly the life that Christ rejected: normalcy, marriage and children, comfort, and collaboration with the authorities in persecuting more Christians. Like Christ, he has sacrificed himself — by rejecting God, he has damned himself — yet shockingly, the film, based on the 1966 novel by the Japanese author Shusaku Endo, suggests that this public renunciation is what God truly wants.

http://forward.com/culture/359046/martin-scorseses-silence-explores-faith-when-god-keeps-quiet/

 

[fin]

Article on Silence by Eric Sammons: mindspirit.com/silence-proclaims-heroism-martyrs/?utm_source=Mind%26Spirit+Newsletter&utm_campaign=23ac710188-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b19f6d7994-23ac710188-401174805

 

[zaida]

Saw this film last night and I am overwhelmed with the beauty of it. It does not glorify apostasy…at ALL…it does a remarkable job of showing people and priests in agony, suffering for their faith, dealing with their doubts, struggling to keep their love of God in the most extreme conditions…I say - go see it! LOVED it! It is not for the meek of heart and there is violence - the martyrs deaths are not covered up.

Stunning film -

 

[zaida]

Robert Barron is a huge Scorcese Fan…

Here is his review of SILENCE…he does not condemn it, just has a different take on it…(note spoilers)

wordonfire.org/resources/article/scorseses-silence-and-the-seaside-martyrs/5360/

 

[TCEL]

Saw this film last night and I am overwhelmed with the beauty of it. It does not glorify apostasy…at ALL…it does a remarkable job of showing people and priests in agony, suffering for their faith, dealing with their doubts, struggling to keep their love of God in the most extreme conditions…I say - go see it! LOVED it! It is not for the meek of heart and there is violence - the martyrs deaths are not covered up.

Stunning film -

Haven’t seen it, but there’s a huge difference between presentation of apostasy, and glorification of it. I say that because there clearly are martyrs presented in the film. I suppose it all depends on how it’s handled. One of my biggest fears, apart from apostasy, is someone torturing loved ones in order to twist my arm to apostasy. It’s fairly common, and it happened with ISIS and the Christians in the Middle East. That’s why I was intrigued by the plot. Sounds quite realistic, really. However, I’ll probably wait to see it until my hormones are a bit more even.

 

[Shaolen]

Saw this film last night and I am overwhelmed with the beauty of it. It does not glorify apostasy…at ALL…it does a remarkable job of showing people and priests in agony, suffering for their faith, dealing with their doubts, struggling to keep their love of God in the most extreme conditions…I say - go see it! LOVED it! It is not for the meek of heart and there is violence - the martyrs deaths are not covered up.

Stunning film -

I definitely didn’t say its glorifying apostasy.

 

[anon98328916]

I was very excited to see this movie. I’ve never read (or even heard of) the book but the trailer looked interesting and was thrilled that a big time Oscar bait director like Martin Scorsese was making a movie about the Japanese martyrs.

After having watched the film however I’m very disappointed. Rather than a movie about the courageous martyrs dying for the faith, it was a movie about a man somewhat losing his faith and coming to grips with the choice of apostasy.

The movie to me seems to promote a sense of relativism, a need to privatize your faith, the idea that missionary work is immoral and that this life is valued above the next. Am I overlooking something in this movie? Are there any redeeming qualities that shows the truth of catholic morality?

I personally haven’t seen the movie yet myself. I am not surprised at all that the movie wasn’t about the strong Catholic faith those men had, instead it focuses on Liam Neesons character? (An actor who delights on anything that is not going to paint the church in a good light). When I read this I thought of the many saints who died martyrs for there faith. This could have shown the audience how much a persons love for Jesus and His church is and how we all could be martyrs if it ever came to it. It could have displayed how important and beautiful the faith is and the strong faith they had but it’s Hollywood I am talking about so I expect nothing more from this movie. Things in this world are never pro church.

 

[anon98328916]

I’m not going to pay $ for a ticket to see a movie and sit through a Zen koan directed by Mr. Scorsese who made a movie called ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ in 1988 and so this guy can fill his bank account off of me.

If you want to hand your $$ over to Mr. Scorsese and financially support him and his bank account in return for 90 minutes or so of entertainment, that’s your decision.

I encourage people not to go see whatever anti-religious, violent or full of sex films Mr. Scorsese makes:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_(film)

I really cannot comprehend why some Catholic clergy and Catholic intellectuals are promoting this turkey of a film; especially from a director who made ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ in 1988 and has made films full of graphic violence and sex. :sad_yes:

Movie Review from the Forward:


http://forward.com/culture/359046/martin-scorseses-silence-explores-faith-when-god-keeps-quiet/

I agree

 

[Shaolen]

, instead it focuses on Liam Neesons character? .

Actually his role is almost a glorified cameo. But he does contribute largely to the moral confusion at the end of the movie

 

[tomarin]

How are the performances? From what I’ve read about it, it almost sounds plot-wise like a religious-historical reworking of ‘Apocalypse Now’.

 

[Shaolen]

How are the performances? From what I’ve read about it, it almost sounds plot-wise like a religious-historical reworking of ‘Apocalypse Now’.

I thought the acting was top notch. And yes that thought had crossed my mind too. There are similarities between this and apocalypse now

 

[tomarin]

I thought the acting was top notch. And yes that thought had crossed my mind too. There are similarities between this and apocalypse now

I would like to see it, but I don’t want to be exposed to lots of scenes of gratuitous violence and torture, and innocent people suffering. I’ve become very sensitive to things like that, in my dotage.

 

[gofar]

So does the end leave a sense of hope or despair? That seems to be the main issue. I have not seen this movie but I am wanting to, as I know the Pope also saw it.

But, we watch all kinds of things that are not edifying, which I try to avoid. The real question is what does God show you when you watch this?

Do you think it is worthy of our time?

 

[zaida]

Good questions Gofar!

For me this film showed me what immense, glorifying, incredible faith looks like - the hidden Japanese who were secretly practicing their faith.

It also made me look at themes such as torture - what would my own limitations be? Can we judge those who experience real torture and lose the plot? I cant even begin to understand the anguish - the psychological impact of being tortured (not to mention physical).

There were parts of the film that moved me so much its hard to put into words - where the Priest was holding the Host for the Japanese (the ones who hadn’t had a Priest to do Mass in a very long time)

Also - it made me think about Gods overwhelming mercy.

The end - can be understood in many different ways - but ultimately - its hopeful.

 

[Maxirad]

Click here for Dave Armstrong’s thoughts on Silence.

 

[Dwyer]

During the reign of Decius (c. 249-51), the Christians of Alexandria are said to have endured martyrdom, stoning, or having their belongings confiscated for not worshipping at an idol’s temple or chanting incantations. But some readily made unholy sacrifices, pretending that they had never been Christians, while others renounced their faith or were tortured until they did (Hist. Eccl. 6.41). In his account of the Diocletian persecution,

(Father of Church History and Bishop of Caesarea Maritima) Eusebius (c. 260-340 A.D.) commends the heroic martyrs but is determined to mention nothing about those who made shipwreck of their salvation, believing that such reports would not edify his readers (8.2:3).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Christianity#Persecutions:_perseverance_and_martyrdom

I’d recommend instead of paying $ for a movie ticket to see *Silence *which is an adaptation of a work of fiction in order to get your Catholic History from Hollywood watch instead the documentary ‘*Let Me Walk This Path’ *which follows the history of Christianity in Japan “from the arrival of St. Francis Xavier and his missionaries in 1549 to the major beatification ceremony of 188 Japanese martyrs in 2008”.

 

[Dwyer]

Apostasy is complete rejection of the truths of the Christian faith by one who has been baptized. A vicious and sinful life often leads to apostasy. No really good man has ever fallen away from the Christian faith.

An apostate denies or gives up his religion through fear or shame, or through worldly motives or human respect, and denies Christ Himself. He is under eternal damnation, for Christ days: "Whoever disowns me before men, I in turn will disown him before my Father in heaven (Matt. 10:33). It may happen that a Catholic gives up his religion because he had a quarrel with the priest. He crucifies Christ because of a petty disagreement with a mortal. Such a man should ever remember that “he who loses his goods loses much; he who loses his life, loses more; but he who loses his faith loses all.”

—My Catholic Faith: A Manual of Religion, Bishop Louis LaRavoire Morrow, S.T.D., My Mission House, Kenosha, WI, Thoroughly Revised edition, 1958, p. 202