SILENCE : The Book, The Author, The Movie and the Hollywood Film

SILENCE

The masterpiece lies in the simplicity of Silence. That silence will be broken...by the readers themselves. It will speak to one and all. In different ways. A book worthy of the accolades.

And then comes the films. To great publicity and critical  reviews, Martin Scorsese's latest -Silence (2017)  - has been greeted.

The subtext is correct. This is Martin Scorsese's Silence. It is not Shusaku Endo's. While the book let the reader's own reflections lead the way. The film is literally too directed by the director point of view.

And it is a Caucasian interpretation of an oriental perspective. The spiritual nuances and cultural sensitivities are gone. Just the fact that all the Japanese actors in the movie either speak Americanized English or stereotypical "broken" English has already ruined Shusaku Endo's genius.

The greatest injustice was done to the character of Japanese inquisitor Inoue, who was originally a magistrate in the novel. That caricature, that sneer, that cartoonish act. Unworthy of the original characterization that Shusaku Endo laid down. The very fact that Scorsese's designated him as "inquisitor" is already a very telling bias.

The book is worthy of its accolades. The 2017 movie not so...

Word became flesh? Not quite. Spider-Man, a Jedi, and Kylo Ren. Star Wars does not work here. Only the wise Jedi was commendable.

So let's take a look at the first film adaptation. Chinmoku (1971) by the acclaimed director, Masahiro Shinoda. An award-winning film.

The 46 year-old film is much truer to the spirit of Shusaku Endo's work. Not surprising since Shusaku Endo himself co-wrote the screenplay. Despite the ending, which the author disapproved of, Chinmoku (1971) is a much more authentic film tackling the interculteration of religion. The fact that it was a bilingual script said even more in contrast to Scorsese's offering.

What hit me, however, was the similar dialogue and scenes found in the new film. The lack of originality is disappointing when you hear Silence (2017) being referred to as a "masterpiece". Martin Scorsese went down the narrow path into the rabbit hole. But he could not produce the wonders of the gospel of love. He was so focused on the "injustice" done to the missionary, he seemed to have forgotten to examine the sufferings imposed upon the Japanese believers brought about by the very foreign influx of conversion.

In the end, this is NOT a Christian move as some people may believe. To do so would undermine Shusaku's prose.