Silence (2016)

the audience applauded

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Sorry, Marty. I know you're a filmmaking God and you've made some of my favourite films, but you've really messed up here. Looks great, well acted, but just SO dull to watch. It actually took me 6 sittings before I managed to get through this. Just not worth your time. Avoid.

I saw Silence on TV. To be brief, the movie is about two, young, 17th century Catholic priests venturing to Japan to find a lost priest. Apparently Catholic priests were not held in high esteem in those days in Japan because the two priests had to go into hiding.I almost turned off the movie at about the half hour point. It was slow going. Eventually it became clear that the priests, and other native Christians, must forsake their religion or die of the Buddhists. To show the priests and the other Christians that they meant business, there was a lot of torturing going on.Anyway, enough. If the viewer is a devout Christian, particularly a Catholic, then the film might have some meaning. It might even be inspirational. To the average joe, it will probably come off as kind of strange. In fact, the inspirational parts for some viewers might seem to other viewers like the actions of the foolish. I was in the latter camp.

I don't think it's really a spoiler to say that the ending will only satisfy art-house film lovers. In other words, Greek tragedies end happier.But the good news is: One gets to slog through religious persecution, murders and martydoms, torture, suffering, battles with insanity, more suffering, angst, inhumanity, and still more suffering along the way.I think it is funny that so-called film critics all got on the Scorsese bandwagon to laud this film. Only Peter Debruge of Variety gave it a fair review.So, if you like art-house Greek tragedies, which I occasionally do... Or if you are a big Scorsese fan, which I occasionally am... And you are willing to go along vicariously with Andrew Garfield's constant turmoil for 2 1/2 hours......then this film is for you.But even if you still think this is for you, I'll bet you don't find yourself saying, "That was a quick 2 1/2 hours." There just isn't enough to justify the length!It's like someone saying, "Gee, I wonder what it would feel like to be tazered?" And then finding a trusted, respected police officer and saying, "OK, taze me." But then after 2 1/2 hours one might just say, "OK, I think I got the point awhile ago."

The technical genre of this film would be "Tragedy". I say this because the movie treats itself very seriously, and there is a ton of sorrowful or terrible events taking place around the main character who can be classified as a "heroic" individual. The purpose of tragedies is to watch them, look at all the bad things happening to the hero, because of the hero, and by the hero, and then afterwards reflect. This movie is definitely going to make you reflect on some things. If it doesn't, eh...oh well, you still watched a quality movie. If you like tragedies, this movie is a must. Scorsese has made a beautiful piece with great atmosphere, beautiful shots, (oh gosh) scenes with MEANING and PROGRESSION. The story is complete, thoroughly explained, and ends on a positive note. I don't feel like I've wasted my time investing emotionally in characters that the story will just throw away when they fulfil their purpose. This film was not lazily madeThis film is a bit on the slow side, totaling to 2 hours and 41 minutes. If you are very impatient, this film isn't for you. If you aren't very analytical/observational, this film will most likely not be for you. If you are a cynic, or purely intellectual and not very spiritual, there is a VERY HIGH chance this film is not for you. Their are some real intense topics that this movie will delve into that take time to process. If you didn't really understand the topics before, this movie is not going to reveal anything you can't get somewhere else in a better way.Those who think this film is a "Faith-Based" Film, IT IS NOT. I REPEAT IT IS NOT A "FAITH-BASED" FILM. People comparing it to movies like Passion of the Christ or War Room are comparing apples to oranges. Just because the movie has Christianity in it, does not make this a Christian film. If anything, this is the worst movie to try and build a natural and/or spiritual understanding of the religion simply because answers are very vague and are completely left up to interpretation. "Faith-based" films will leave nothing up to interpretation and tell you flat out the one thing and only thing it is about, faith. This film was not purposed to do that. This film is purely a historical drama about tragic events that happened and how the protagonist makes choices during those tragedies. Thank you, Martin Scorsese, for making a good film that I can actually share with other people and not regret doing so.