THIS is the film of Martin Scorsese, starring Andrew Garfield, that was previewed in the Vatican on November 29, 2016. This film is based on the historical novel by Japanese author Shusaku Endo. The novel is brilliant and the film, which struggles to portray the novel, is about a Portuguese Jesuit priest, Father Sebastian Rodrigues, witnessing his small Christian flock being tortured and killed.
He suffers with them. He asks: “Where is our God? Why does he keep silent?” Finally captured himself, he seems on the surface to deny his faith by trampling on the image of Christ. But he does so to obtain the release of those under torture. That is the promise of his torturer. This is the crux of the story.
To obtain their release, should he trample on the image of the Christ himself? It is here that Christ speaks to Rodrigues: “Yes! You may put your foot on my image. I more than anyone know of the pain in your foot. You may trample! It was to be trampled on by others that I came into this world. It is to share human pain that I carried my cross.”
When published in 1966 initial reviews and reactions concentrated on the apparent despair and apostasy of Rodrigues and the seeming powerlessness of God. Overlooked was the warmth and words of a kind God who fully understands human weakness. But a better reading of the novel suggests that God only appears to be silent and he stands beside us always. God suffers with us. In the last page of the book Rodrigues says to Jesus: “Lord I resented your silence.” Jesus answers, “I was not silent. I suffered with you.”
This is not easy viewing. It unfolds slowly and the movie is long. Also, it struggles in parts to portray a difficult novel but, overall, it is a rich story.