Silence of the sheep

The film focuses on the physical and spiritual suffering of Father Rodrigues (Garfield). The other main character is an “ex” Japanese Christian, Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka), who guides the priests to the hidden Christian communities, where Christians perform their own baptisms in the absence of official church leadership. Between Rodrigues and Kichijiro, Scorsese contrasts portraits of a “strong” faith with a “weak” faith.

Scorsese also confronts the potential for paternalism in missions work—a major concern of those outside the church who see characters like Rodrigues. The Japanese inquisitor, who tees up some laughs in this dark story, argues to Rodrigues at one point that he cannot force Christianity on the country: “You do not know Japan.” Rodrigues returns: “And you, honorable inquisitor, do not understand Christianity.”

Both are right.

This is a difficult film, both in terms of Endō’s complex story and the visual suffering. The violent persecution is vivid, but it doesn’t reach the extreme shock value of a Mel Gibson film. Scorsese shows a crucifixion, a beheading, a drowning, the burning alive of a family, and a torture where Christians were hung upside down with a cut in their necks to slowly bleed to death. Even the awful scenes, like three crucifixions on a beach outside a small town, are beautifully and solemnly rendered. The beach executions call to mind the ISIS execution of 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in 2015.

The tough subject matter likely won’t be enticing to many holiday audiences—the film is in limited release Dec. 23 before going nationwide in January—but it is the most complex cinematic wrestling with persecution I have seen. With attacks on Christian communities around the world, this is a timely story that will stick as a highlight in Scorsese’s canon.