Silence

Nach den meisterhaften Genre-Filmen ließ sich Scorsese auf etwas Schwierigeres ein. So wie in den Filmen Die letzte Versuchung Christi oder Kundun handelt es sich wieder um Religion. Ein langsamer Film fast ohne Musik, der auf Dialogen baut und mit Stimmungsbildern des Milieus und feinen Toneffekten arbeitet. Von der Struktur her ähnelt es ein bisschen Coppolas Apocalypse Now. Mir, als einem Atheisten, hat der Film überraschenderweise Spaß gemacht – wegen der psychologischen Analyse der Figuren, den philosophischen Überlegungen über die Wichtigkeit und die Folgen eines Glaubens sowie wegen der Verantwortung der Missionare. Garfield war gut, RICHTIG gut. (16.01.2017)

An artistic statement that is not as thought-provoking as The Last Temptation of Christ, yet it is a beautiful piece of filmmaking, thoughtful, with first-class visual compositions. My relationship with this film is ambivalent. The main characters – the Christian priests – didn’t have my sympathy because they were spreading the gospel in a culturally different country where no one asked them to (and where Buddhism was strongly rooted) and at the cost of immeasurable suffering for the common folk, bleeding and dying, but at the same time, this account of Scorsese as a deeply religious man is so honest that you have to admire it, even if you might be ideologically inclined in a different direction. Scorsese wanted more, to show that the people of the distant past deeply believed in symbols and that strongly rooted beliefs cannot be broken, no matter how hard the hostile environment tries. Everyone believes in something. Some believe in the power of nature, some in the power of family, others in the power of money, and Scorsese and other Christians in the power of the Christian God. And I, an ordinary person and a mere atheist, have no right to deny and question this belief. Although I will still side with Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) and prefer the aforementioned The Last Temptation of Christ, which was deeper. PS: Garfield was brilliant. I was already intrigued by him already in The Social Network and I knew we would hear a lot about this guy. (03.06.2017)

It’s clear already from the name of the director of this movie that this won’t be just an ordinary movie. Martin Scorsese has the gift to make revolutionary movies and this one will be no exception. The only problem is that he’s not offering a simple, meaningful and logical plot. You see the Japanese are anything but easy to understand for us and you need a lot of time to study them. And that may be why this film is so interesting and that may have been the reason why Martin Scorsese decided to make a movie like this. And I totally understand the silent camera which has the image of what’s going on in the scene speak for it. You see, this film is so interesting that it’s actually incredibly hard to understand. You be the judge of that. The movie takes 161 minutes. For most of the movie, what you get is silence, destruction and two priests who are evidently somewhere where they shouldn’t be at all. The viewer can’t even by surprised by what they see. What I was surprised by, however, was Andrew Garfield’s acting performance, who is no longer the underage Spiderman who I took him to be. He finally got a chance to show himself. And along with the absolutely amazing cinematography, these are two reasons why this movie is worth watching. I was ecstatic. Silence may not be an easy film, but it’s full of incredible moments. And those sure are worth experiencing! (27.02.2017)

I admire Martin Scorsese for reaching for matters of the heart without hesitation, even after audience-pleasing films like The Wolf of Wall Street or Shutter Island, knowing that it may not be successful commercially. And as is customary with matters of the heart, one reluctantly leaves out, limits, or shortens one's expectations. The fight for truth, against suffering, and with one's own ego, is portrayed in a way that is a destructive spectacle, thanks in large part to a phenomenal performance from Andrew Garfield. It raises a hundred and one questions, but mostly focuses on the same topic, which inevitably becomes tiresome even for the most accommodating viewer given the copious running time. Through Rodrigo Prieto's captivating camera work, Silence is visually stunning, but due to the sluggish screenplay, it is a bit challenging to engage in conversation about it. (24.02.2017)

A powerful story and fantastic visuals. Nothing to fault in terms of acting. Garfield is perfect. The philosophizing about faith in contrast to the cruelty of life in Japan back then is really darn powerful. Go on, pray! (17.02.2017)

Berühmte Persönlichkeiten wie Martin Scorsese haben die Macht, die breite Öffentlichkeit für die von ihnen gewählten Themen zu begeistern. Ein solches persönliches Thema war für Scorsese der Roman "Schweigen" (1966) von Endō Shūsaku, den er 45 Jahre nach seiner japanischen Originalverfilmung Silence dem westlichen Publikum vorstellte. Dennoch ist es sehr schwierig, eine persönliche Verbindung zu der Geschichte portugiesischer Jesuiten auf einer japanischen Mission im 17. Jahrhundert zu finden. Unsere historische Erfahrung liegt viel näher an Filmen wie The Society of Jesus. Die spirituelle Atmosphäre und die schöne Landschaft sind natürlich fesselnd, aber erstklassige Schauspieler wie Garfield, Driver oder Neeson wirken in einem anderen Kontext natürlicher. (22.02.2024)

The silence of a directorial genius. It has gorgeous cinematography, but that’s something I take for granted and consider mandatory in world-class filmmakers; the dialogues have something to then, and the message is morally unquestionable, carved into the viewer with a surgically precise pace and methodical narrative rhythm. BUT steady pace does not equal quality pace, and I personally didn't become a staunch defender of the art of filmmaking in order to patiently stoke my faith in a director's divine abilities, which began to fade after a few dozen emotionally catatonic minutes, and even after 160 long minutes, it didn't even come close to rediscovering itself, unlike the steadfast protagonist. To fully appreciate the film on a purely narrative level, I guess I wouldn't have to be such a die-hard atheist and hardened ignoramus of man's blind faith in supernatural forces and the hellish consequences of betraying one's own beliefs; to enjoy it as a visual self-questioning catharsis, it wouldn't have to talk and repeat so much simple, universally understood religious motifs. God bless Scorsese for taking on such heavy and massively impenetrable material in the first place, but this time I dare to tread on his sacrament and I can honestly say that if Bruce Wayne had popped up behind Liam Neeson's back at the end and kicked his ass with kung fu, I might have been a lot happier with the outcome. Kundun, although with a less serious subject, was much more enjoyable. (21.02.2017)

Wenn Sie zwischen Silence und Jackie schwanken, schauen Sie sich Jackie an. Ich habe es umgekehrt getan, auch dank der Einladung meines Freundes Enšpígl zur Vorpremiere. Das Thema ist für einen dreistündigen Film unglaublich ermüdend, ein paar Leute haben es nicht ausgehalten und bereits nach einem Drittel den Saal verlassen. Man hätte den Film zusammenschneiden, abhacken, dramatisieren müssen. Ich spreche dem Streifen gewisse Qualitäten nicht ab, aber ich freute mich auch auf das Ende, und das ist nie ein gutes Zeichen. Und so befürchtete ich lange, mein Liebling Neeson würde wohl nicht so viel Raum bekommen wie in Gangs of New York. Scorsese sollte zu seinen guten alten Mafiosi und Gangstern aller Art zurückkehren. (03.02.2017)

I often give three stars to some crazy nonsense, but Silence is not nonsense. It just catches up to the fact that Scorsese, especially in his later years, can't work very well with visuals and imagery. A humble, slow, intimate, spiritual theme is not, in my opinion, ideal for stimulating with so many words, so many graphic shots that clearly explain what the scene is supposed to be about. As a result, the film breaks into four parts, where the first hour is like a cut from a TV Noe production (half-measured combo of quiet sensitivity and humility), which then breaks into classic sequences of abuse, during which we watch scene by scene the protagonist's breaking under various influences. This ends with part three, which is an essential dialogue with his teacher, and the rest of the film is a bad adaptation of the book in the style of a voice over saying "There were Dutch merchants in the harbor" and we have a shot of Dutch merchants. I completely understand Scorsese's fascination with the subject and his respect for it, but there's more of the subject than there is of the actual film and that's not how it’s supposed to be. I'll keep knocking on the door of The Revenant, McQueen, or Tarkovsky for religious movies. Those films may not be smart enough, but they have the potential to give the viewer more of a boost than the filmmakers themselves intended, which Silence doesn't have. (17.04.2023)

One star for perfect cinematography, the rest fell victim to utter boredom and annoying Catholic propaganda. The answer to most of the questions asked by Father Rodrigues could be: "Because you came here forcing your delusions on us!" Fortunately, the Japanese did not make the same mistake as the Aztecs and Incas. They allowed the Catholics to become martyrs, thus avoiding the Conquista and the Holy Inquisition. The film was awfully long, and the story was so monotonous it dragged on like a snail soaked in honey. I wished the main characters a slow and painful death, and I was secretly hoping that one of the Japanese would finally run out of patience, reach for a katana and create a ‘pagan's cut,’ cutting the film shorter by at least a third. (07.01.2020)

Martin Scorsese belongs to the directors whom I adore, and it's evident that at his age, he already knows how to make a film, how to make it captivating and beautiful, and how to convey some thoughts that you can ponder. This was done in the film Silence. Great performances, but above all stunning cinematography and direction. (21.04.2017)

If Martin Scorsese didn't have a hand in this, I'd probably avoid it in a big way. Unfortunately, I have to say that his contribution is not very good this time around, and except for about three very interesting camera shots, the whole film is very monotonous and at times drags incredibly. I understand what Martin Scorsese wanted to convey and it certainly has a concept. But in the end I suffered through the whole two and a half hours more out of respect for the director than for any other reason. (28.04.2019)

Despite this, or maybe because I am an atheist, films with religious themes are among my favourites; they are full of questions and contradictions, and this film played exactly to my tune. And the best part of the whole experience was that I perceived the main characters as villains. There's no point in going on at length, this is simply worth watching. Everything works as it should and surprisingly for its running time and the amount of dialogue, the film has no dead moments and never bores for a second. Garfield is doing surprisingly well this year, and Driver, even though he doesn’t have as much space, I can't help but praise him again, he entertains and moves me in every role he plays (except Star Wars, that is :D). (17.03.2017)