Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person

Name: Date:
Performance Task #2 Year Level & Section:
Movie Title: ________Silence_______

How much suffering can a man take before breaking and renouncing that which is
most important to him? How much suffering does one have to go through to lose their faith in
God? Is it moral to allow others to suffer when their suffering can be ended with a single
symbolic gesture? Is God indifferent to suffering?

Silence is an epic historical drama released in 2016 as a film adaptation of Shusaku

Endo's novel about two Jesuit priests in the 1600s that traveled to Japan to investigate the
rumor that their teacher has apostatized, meaning he has denied the faith. The farther they go
into Japan, the more their faith is tested as they call out for God to end the suffering of the
persecuted Japanese Christians only to receive nothing but silence. The film is a thoughtful
and uncomfortable meditation on Christianity and its various aspects like missionary work
doubt and most notably faith. The film's greatest triumph is how it explores Christianity both
with respect and reverence as well as a profound and brutal honesty.
 The film opens up with Portuguese missionaries being tortured for their faith.
However, instead of trying to escape from their suffering they welcome it with pride.

They see it as a victory to their life mission, to mirror the life of their savior and die
for their faith is deemed as an honor and a privilege. On the other hand, to let the faith die is
an unspeakable shame to put upon the church.
When met with the news that one of the greatest and wisest priest, Father Ferreira,
had apostatized under great torture, the church recognizes the gravity of the claim. Two
students of Ferreira, Father Rodrigues and Father Garupe volunteered to go to Japan and see
whether or not the statement is true. Before embarking on his journey to Japan, Rodrigues
hopes that along the way of finding Ferreira he could be of use to the Japanese Christians and
wishes to live out his life like his fellow priests and savior lived theirs; to live and die as a
servant of man of God.
From what a viewer such as I am could assess, Rodrigues sees himself as the
Christian hero. He will go out into a dangerous land, preach and save the souls of the natives
and ultimately die for it. That is what he believes it means to live like Christ. But in order for
there to be a hero of the faith, there needs to be a villain. After all, if Rodrigues seeks to
mirror the life of Jesus, he will need a Judas. At this point, the character Kichijiro enters. We
meet him as a drunkard and an outcast of society. However, it is he who will guide Rodrigues
and Garupe through Japan in search of Ferreira. Though the two priests look down on him,
they greatly depend on him.
Once in Japan he takes them to a village made up of secret Christians, whom the two
missionaries preach, baptized and forgiven through confession though they don't fully
understand what the Japanese Christians are confessing to due to the language and cultural
barrier and this problem goes both ways. Kichijiro confesses to Rodrigues that when he and
his family were confronted by officials and commanded to deny the faith by stepping on a
fumi-e, a metal plaque displaying an image of Jesus or the Virgin Mary, he stepped while his
family didn't and they were burned to death for it. He asked for forgiveness though it
certainly isn't the last time he does.

Now much later in the film he steps on a fumi-e again, spits on a cross and confesses
to Rodrigues. Not long after that he sells Rodrigues out to the government for which he later
repeatedly repents for. Throughout both the film and novel Rodrigues despises Kichijiro. In
the novel when Kichijiro confesses to Rodrigues a second time he thinks to himself,

“Men are born into two categories: the strong and the
weak, the saints and the commonplace, the heroes and
those who respect them. In time of persecution the strong
are burnt in the flames and drowned in the sea; but the
weak like Kichijiro lead a vagabond life in the mountains. As for you (i now spoke to myself)
which category do you belong to?”

For Rodrigues, life is black and white. His beliefs are rooted in the idea of separatism
that there is an us and them and the difference between the two is strength and weakness. He
believes that the greatest act of weakness is to surrender the faith and looks down on those
who do and considers them beneath him.
However, they can always be renewed through the act of forgiveness. As for himself,
the Christian hero doing such a thing is out of the question. He believes that to live in the
imitation of Christ means to stand for your beliefs till death no matter the cost. To mirror the
life of Jesus is his life's mission and the story's tension relies on whether or not he will fulfill
his goal.
After being betrayed by Kichijiro, Rodrigues is to be tried for his faith and teachings
by Japanese officials and expects that he'll heroically defend his faith with pride against the
villainous and pagan foreigners but as it turns out the Japanese officials actually did their
homework and understand Christianity just as well as Rodrigues, if not better. They realized
that instead of granting the missionaries the martyrdom they desire, they rob them of it and
force them to watch their followers suffer and die in their place and continue to do so, so long
as the missionaries cling to their faith. If they apostatize not only will the persecution end but
their followers would also be more likely to abandon the faith Rodrigues however never
backs down even after seeing his own friend, Father Garupe, die while trying to save an
innocent Christian from drowning.

Through each trial Rodrigues begs God to end it all for him, to end the suffering of
the innocent. And after each trial all that remains is the bodies of the innocent and a silence
from God. But still, Rodrigues holds on to his faith and continues to compare himself to Jesus
and reflect on his face.

On the surface, it's easy to see Rodrigues as a noble hero and Japan is a heartless
villain who hates and despises Christianity via God's not dead style. But upon closer
inspection, there's a reason and method to the madness.
Japan at the time was suddenly under the spotlight to all the major nations of the
world and each wanted some level of control over it via economics, politics, and religions.
So, Japan wisely cut ties with them so as to preserve itself and its culture. This is explained in
the film by the Japanese official in charge of ending Christianity in Japan known as the
“Inquisitor” who uses the analogy of a master with four jealous concubines who fight each
other until they are all kicked out by their master for the safety and peace of the household.
So when missionaries from another nation with strong political motivations and great control
over its religion and church infiltrate Japan and create followers who are even willing to die
for said church, it becomes easier to understand why the Japanese reacted so strongly to
Christianity spreading throughout its nation. The possibility of Christianity being the catalyst
of getting conquered by another country is one Japan simply couldn't afford which then led to
the persecution of missionaries and their followers. Japan wasn't doing this out of a hate for
Christianity or God but out of defense and survival.

I don't believe the ends justify the means. However, it is at least understandable why
Japan felt as though they were left with no choice but to stamp out Christianity with such
extreme measures.

With this in mind you start to wonder if what the missionaries were doing was even
right. This becomes an even more troubling thought once Ferreira explains to Rodrigues that
the converted Christians didn't even believe in the same gospel due to the language and
cultural misunderstandings. With this new shift in perspective it becomes easier to question
the intentions and beliefs of the priests. If the priests are thoughtlessly exporting their beliefs
with no regard for those who receive them and then result on playing the persecution card
when it naturally yields misunderstanding and suffering, then are they truly acting from a
place of selfless love or are they just seeking to get their ego stroked? After all even if the
priests fail at spreading the gospel they can still fulfill their beliefs by being persecuted. If the
priests truly cared for who would receive their gospel they would have sought to better
understand the Japanese language and culture. However, a desire for understanding was not
on the hearts of the missionaries.

By the time we reach the climax of the film, Rodrigues is in a whirlwind of doubt. He
has discovered that it was true that Father Ferreira apostatized, he has seen dozens die for his
faith, Kichijiro continues to beg him for forgiveness, and God remains silent through it all.
Yet, after all of this, he's still determined that he will remain strong like Jesus and not be
weak like Judas, Ferreira, and Kichijiro, that he will reflect the life of his Christ and die for
his faith. But still, he's not the one suffering. There are five Christians hanging upside down
in a pit with a small cut on their neck to keep them from dying a quick death but to endure a
slow and painful one.

Father Ferreira speaks to Rodrigues, “You see Jesus in gethsemane and believe your
trial is the same as his. Those five from the pit are suffering too just like Jesus, but they don't
have your pride, they would never compare themselves to Jesus! Do you have the right to
make them suffer?” Rodriguez clings and defends what little faith he has left. “I pray too,
Rodrigues. It doesn't help.” “Go on. Pray. But pray with your eyes open.” This really struck
me and kept me thinking the whole time I was watching the movie…

Confronted with the suffering of others, Rodrigues is presented with the same choice,
sacrifices faith to end their pain or cling to it and continue their suffering.
 “Come ahead now. Step…” He hears the voice of God and apostatizes. He is then let
free, given a new name, forgives Kichijiro where he once again hears the voice of God, lives
onto old age, dies and is cremated while holding a cross.

I’ve seen many people interpret the film's message as vocally give up belief in God
for the sake of others and keep your faith to yourself. But, when you look at what the film is
really saying, it becomes one of if not the best retelling of the gospel.
Contrary to what many thought about the ending, Rodrigues did in fact accomplish his
goal; for his life to reflect Christ. Though, it was just in the way he least expected. There are
many parallels between Rodrigues’s journey and Jesus like being betrayed for money, being
tried for his beliefs and teachings, being tortured though one is physical and the other is
psychological, and finally making a sacrifice to end the suffering of others.

Christianity claims that Jesus sacrificed the flesh, a selfish nature within man while
Rodrigues also sacrificed what was causing the suffering of others instead of their salvation,
something that was causing him to act from a place of selfishness instead of a place of
humility, something that he protected no matter the cost - his faith. For Rodrigues the flesh
also known as the ego was found in the place he sought to protect the most. However, it was
when he held his pride sacred and above others that the events of suffering occurred. It was
his faith that kept him from seeing Kichijiro as nothing more than a lowly drunkard, and it
was his faith that enabled him to feel holy for it. It is here that he realizes that to live an
imitation of Christ doesn't mean to die for your pride but to sacrifice it. Because of this
sacrifice, he is then born again and given a new life, however, he fails to see the parallel and
lives in resentment of his apostasy. It isn't until Kichijiro for the final time, repents to
Rodrigues that he realizes that it was in the moment he let go of his pride and lowered
himself down to the level of those who he thought were beneath him that he became the most
like Christ. It was not when there was a separation between us or them but when those lines
were blurred and became one that the voice of God was finally heard.

One night, Rodrigues prayed, “Lord, I fought against your silence.” He heard a voice
that spoke to him, “I suffered beside you. I was never silent”. He then realized that it was
God speaking through his thoughts. “If God had been silent my whole life to this very day,
everything I do, everything I’ve done speaks of Him. It was in the silence that I heard your
voice”.

From this deconstruction of faith comes an authentic transformation in Rodrigues’

spiritual life, one that isn't rooted in the inherent pride found within the dogma of Christianity
but one that is free from it and more personal than ever. His beliefs aren't determined by the
church or his followers because he now sees that faith can be the very thing stopping us from
fulfilling it. But from the deconstruction of faith we can begin the reconstruction of love and
with that, Rodrigues fulfills his life's mission. He lives and dies as a servant of man, and God.

Some Christians may say that this is a film to criticize Christianity or, non-believers
may think that it is a propaganda made by the church. It is neither. It was a really good
movie, too bad not a lot of people know about it. The story mainly tackles the topics of
suffering, faith, and spirituality. It was a long one and some scenes may be too unsettling for
some. Nonetheless, the film provides useful lessons in life and I would definitely recommend
it for everyone to watch.