Silence (1971 film), a Japanese film adaptation of Shūsaku Endō's novel, directed by Masahiro Shinoda. a b " 'Hidden Figures' Stays Smart, But Why Are So Many Movies Bombing Over MLK Weekend?". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017.

Seitz, Matt Zoller. "Silence Movie Review & Film Summary (2016)". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016 . Retrieved December 23, 2016.Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the Autumn 2004 issue of Response . We’ve republished it here because of the recent release of Martin Scorsese’s film, based on the same novel.

Seth Kelley (December 24, 2016). "Box Office: 'Rogue One', 'Sing' Take Top Two Spots on Friday, Others Lag". Variety. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017 . Retrieved January 21, 2017. Smuggled into the island nation with the help of a cringing apostate named Kichijiro, Rodrigues and a fellow priest are sheltered in a mountain hut by Japanese-Christian villagers on the sea coast. In a series of letters brimming with confidence and self-assurance, Rodrigues writes to his superiors of the heroic work of Christ that he has been privileged to accomplish: “After Sunday Mass for the first time I intoned and recited the prayers in Japanese with the people. … As I speak there often arises in my mind the face of one who preached the Sermon on the Mount; and I imagine the people who sat or knelt fascinated by his words.” After being left alone there for several hours, listening to the sounds of suffering, Ferreira again visits Rodrigues and explains that the only way to end the suffering of the Japanese Christians is for Rodrigues to humiliate himself, destroy his pride, and apostatize, exclaiming that Christ himself would apostatize out of love for the suffering. Rodrigues, broken, finally agrees. As he holds his foot above the image of Christ, preparing himself to betray his faith, he hears Christ speak to him, telling him that it is okay to trample on him, since Christ came to earth to be trampled on by men and will be present with the priest in his suffering. Still pained but emboldened by Christ’s words, Rodrigues apostatizes.

Silence Resources

The key to combatting despair in suffering is lamenting. David, Job, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and Jesus—they all lamented their agony or the agony of others. They took their cries of grief and pain to the Lord, trusting He would hear them. The presence of the Book of Lamentations in the Bible means that grieving with the Lord and asking “why” is okay. Lamentations does not shy away from the rawness of tribulation. In chapter 3, the author begins by mourning that “his hope from the Lord” has perished. He grieves his circumstances and describes his affliction in brutal detail, but then his tone changes. He writes, “I called on your name…you heard my plea.” The passage concludes with the author relinquishing his anger toward his oppressors to God. If we cannot invite God into our grief, if we choose to cut ourselves off from Him—we will fall into despair. Offering up our anger, laments, and questions allows us to draw closer to the Lord by trusting Him with the honest state of our hearts. a b "Martin Scorsese to Make Noise on 'Silence' at Cannes; Emmett/Furla Funding The Film". Deadline Hollywood. April 19, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016 . Retrieved January 16, 2016. How can one be both Japanese and western? How can one be a Christian and Japanese? Faced with two seemingly essentialist and inflexible ideologies, Endo sought to synthesise where it appeared there was neither room nor possibility for fusion. Not only did Japanese society appear "closed" and resistant to change, Christianity - in the form of Catholicism - appeared to him to be equally stubborn and insular. December 22, 2016 — Thirty years after Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons portrayed Jesuits in the Academy Award-winning movie “The Mission,” the Society of Jesus figures prominently in a new film opening in theaters on Dec. 23. Decades in the making, Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” tells the story of Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in 17th century Japan. Although the film is based on a fictional novel by the Japanese author Shusaku Endo, many of the events and people depicted in “Silence” are real. Rodrigues takes a Japanese name and wife and is tasked by the Inquisitor to assist Ferreira in his efforts to prevent Dutch traders from smuggling Christian paraphernalia into Dejima. He hears the voice of Jesus, who assures him that rather than remaining silent as Rodrigues had thought, Jesus also suffered alongside those who were killed.

Recipient of the 1966 Tanizaki Prize, it has been called Endo's supreme achievement" and "one of the twentieth century's finest novels". But I know what you will say: ‘Their death was not meaningless. It was a stone which in time will be the foundation of the Church; and the Lord never gives us a trial which we cannot overcome… Like the numerous Japanese martyrs who have gone before, they now enjoy everlasting happiness.’ I also, of course, am convinced of all this. And yet, why does this feeling of grief remain in my heart? (60). First, Rodrigues finds himself instructing the peasants to apostatize, something he believes is inconceivable to do. When Mokichi and Ichizo are captured by the samurai, Mokichi asks Rodrigues what to do if he is asked to trample on the fumie, a public act of renunciation of the Christian faith. Rodrigues shouts to Mokichi, “Trample, Trample!” but then he immediately realizes that he spoke words that he never should have uttered. He adds that Garrpe looked at him reproachfully, and since Garrpe metaphorically represents the Church, this indicates how he’s ostensibly being looked at by the Church itself. Andrew Garfield to Star in Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. May 7, 2013. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014 . Retrieved March 2, 2014.The officials return, this time persistent in their goals. First, they capture an old Jisama and drag him to death through the village by horse. An old samurai tells the villagers that they have been informed that Christians are living in the village among them and demand that they turn the Christians over. The samurai tells them to select three hostages for them to take until they do. Mokichi and Ichizo volunteer and the villagers select Kichijiro as a third. Kichijiro breaks down in tears and angrily lashes out at them. Mokichi asks Rodrigues in secret what they should do if they’re asked to trample on the fumie, the face of Christ. Rodrigues, surprising even himself, says they should “trample away.” In this moment of mental distress, Rodrigues cries out to the Lord for peace, but receives no answer. Toward the end of his imprisonment, Rodrigues is confronted by an old mentor, Father Ferreira, who apostatized during extreme torture and began working for his persecutors to demoralize Japanese believers. Ferreira describes how he was forced to watch his congregation bleed: “I did pray. I kept on praying. But prayer did nothing to alleviate their suffering. Behind their ears a small incision has been made; the blood drips slowly through this incision and through the nose and mouth…Prayer does nothing to alleviate suffering” (255). Published in 1966 by legendary Japanese Catholic author Shusaku Endo, Silence follows Father Sebastien Rodrigues, a Jesuit priest, as he performs missionary work in Japan during the height of the country's persecution of Christians in the 1600s. His mission: to learn the truth about his former teacher, who supposedly renounced his faith after being captured and tortured. Sure, there might not be any mobsters or Wall Street bigwigs in this one, but don't let that trip you up—this thing is intense. Asano Replaces Watanabe in Scorsese's 'SILENCE' ". Screen Anarchy. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016 . Retrieved January 16, 2016. Plot [ edit ] Rodrigues visualizes the face of Christ in the Veil of Veronica form painted by El Greco. A fumi-e bearing an image of Christ, similar to the one portrayed in the film.

Martin Scorsese Sued by Producer Cecchi Gori over Alleged Deal to Direct 'Silence' ". The Hollywood Reporter. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014 . Retrieved March 2, 2014. Human suffering extends beyond the truth we know in our minds. While in prison, Rodrigues faces an onslaught of psychological torment. Endo writes, a b "Silence (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017 . Retrieved August 9, 2017. Ferreira’s story is one of the most dramatic stories of Christianity and missionary history of all time,” says Fr. M. Antoni J. Ucerler, SJ, a professor at the University of San Francisco and an expert in Japanese Christian history. “He was the great missionary, the superior of all Jesuit missionaries, and the first to renounce his faith under torture.” This brief documentary describes the traditions and culture of the Japanese Christian community. AUDIO

When Words Offer No Comfort

Martin Scorsese Scouts Locations for 'Silence' in Taiwan". The Hollywood Reporter. February 7, 2014. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014 . Retrieved March 2, 2014.