Sometimes silence is the deadliest sound.|Dec. 22, 2016|Mexico|161 Min.|R
Genre: Drama;History
Description: In the opening scene, veteran Portuguese Jesuit priest Cristóvão Ferreira witnesses the torture of Japanese converts he had been trying to bring to Christianity. Years later, at St. Paul’s College in Macau, Italian Jesuit priest Alessandro Valignano learns Ferreira renounced his faith in Japan. Devastated, Ferreira’s Portuguese students, young Jesuit priests Sebastião Rodrigues and Francisco Garupe, set out to find him. Guided by Kichijirō, a fisherman from Macau whose family was killed for being Christian, they arrive in the Japanese village of Tomogi.
There, they discover local Christians hiding in fear of “the Inquisitor.” Villagers shelter the priests, but when officials arrive to uncover hidden Christians, they force them to step on a fumi-e, an image of Christ. Those who refuse are tortured until they drown, their bodies cremated to prevent Christian burials. Garupe travels to Hirado Island, while Rodrigues heads to Gotō Island, where Ferreira was last seen. Rodrigues finds the village destroyed, and Kichijirō betrays him to the shogunate’s officers, leading to his capture.
Imprisoned in Nagasaki, Rodrigues faces Inoue Masashige, the Inquisitor, who aims to break his faith just as Ferreira’s was broken. Rodrigues is forced to witness the execution of prisoners at the shoreline, including an emaciated Garupe, who drowns while trying to save others. This shakes Rodrigues’ faith.
Later, Rodrigues meets Ferreira, who lives in Japan under a Japanese name with a wife and son. Ferreira reveals he renounced his faith to stop the torture of others. Rodrigues is then brought to witness the torture of five Christians, further testing his resolve.
Cast director: Martin Scorsese
Cast actor: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Yosuke Kubozuka, Tadanobu Asano, Issey Ogata, Shinya Tsukamoto, Yoshi Oida, Ciarán Hinds, Ryo Kase
Original name: Silence