Silence
Harrowing movie. Im not sure what that word means but.. feels right. The visuals are vert seductive. Long patient takes of oceans, weeds, beautiful vignettes in which characters are bound to crosses and drowned mercilessly while crying out God’s name. This movie surely makes even the most secular audience think about their relationship to God and that’s a great thing to do. Or it doesn’t and it connects with you on the pure idea that something you believe is true. Is it worth dying for? Is it worth letting others die to protect the thing you believe to be true? Or is it pride? . My interpretation is in theory it is enough that people die for something they believe is true but in practice you will surely give it up eventually but that struggle is the point. If you struggled a lot it was worth it and if you struggled a little it was worth it. Now that seems wrong though. Any simplistic interpretation seems to lack the nuance of the movie. But its never cynical. Even when its characters are, Japan clearly isn’t a swamp. People aren’t willing to die for Rodriguez they’re willing to die for God before he’s even there however they interpret him. The silence from God gets a beautiful resolution in the apostasy of rodriguez.
What I can say is it interrogates faith on the grounds of a faith it believes can be spiritual. It never once paints people as delirious. Even the inquisitor doesn’t believe Christianity is a spiritual evil but a pragmatic issue. A political one having more to do with the culture of the country than the faith the citizens practice. The Inquisitor kills hundreds for their faith and tells Rodriguez that he is selfish for not giving up his faith, he’s clearly inciting the issue and yet it is Rodriguez’s pride to make himself a story of martyrdom. But what did the apostasy cause him? Would death have been better? If he truly believed then maybe it was him passing the test to let them die. God sees all after all. Maybe the guilt he felt was the devil working against him. This movie is relentless and perfect. However knowing that this could never happen to me as a muslim because Allah knows whats in our hearts and we’re allowed to lie with our tongues does make me feel better.