"So pray, Rodriguez, but pray with your eyes open!" One of the most powerful lines in cinema

"Faith and doubt do not oppose each other. They define each other, like light and shadow". Brilliant. Wonderful review, as usual. :)

I'm a moderate Atheist, but this movie was undeniably fantastic. Amazing acting and a very nuanced look at persecution and religion. Its also really book accurate, which genuinely surprised me. I wish more movies like this exist. instead we get lots of pureflix garbage instead. Great Video as always.

For the first half of the film, I was furious at the behavior of the missionaries, believing this was just some Christian apologetic film about glorifying suffering and persecution. By the end, I realized this was a false setup, a product of the skewed first person perspective of the film, and that this structure was intended to promote reflection on the deep seated conflicts held by the film's characters. It's really a work of art and this is an excellent spiritual analysis of it.

Good shit man. I am not a Christian by any means, but the climax of this movie (when Jesus tells the missionary to step on him) is one of the most beautiful, spiritual, humanitarian movie moments I have yet to witness. I thought it was an incredibly beautiful portrayal of the mercy that Christians teach about Jesus Christ. It also bore testament to how fantastic and diverse Scorsese can be. Such a great movie. If I wouldn't have committed to watch all of it I would have missed out on a true cinematic treat.

"Shut The Hell Up, It's Too Loud" A Film by Martin Scorsese

in my opinion it was one of the best American movies in recent memory, and by far the best of 2016, and i'm jewish.

a misunderstood masterpiece from one of the greatest filmmaker alive. I hope people will understand it's not just Christian believe film

I think PureFlix should just make a film called "Noise".

I still can't get over the fact that it got snubbed by the academy

Damn, just discovered this channel. It's a real gem, Leon. Glad you did Silence, what a wonderful film.

Leon contributed an interesting aspect: How trivial it would be to step on a physical object. I haven't seen this brought up very often since. Way to go ^^

I always thought, given the religious education I received, the choice would be difficult but ultimately unquestionable. You publicly step on the image as while things such images of Jesus and other religious works may be symbols of faith they are not holy and divine themselves, merely images. And as such stepping on them, when under duress is not a renunciation of faith. Faith is carried inside oneself a lot more than it is through any outward displays.

one of the greatest films of 2016 that deserved way more recognition (same with '20th Century Women')

On the subject of God's jealousy, it's worth pointing out that in Hebrew and Greek, "jealous" and "zealous" are the same word (and even in English, they share the same root). "Qinah" and "zelos" denote something like ardor, vehemence, or passion, and the biblical scriptures (particularly the OT) use the terms in both positive and negative senses. Thus theological "jealousy" lacks the inherent negative connotations of the modern word, and in certain contexts, such as a faithful marital relationship, is a natural and even necessary posture.

When I first saw this movie, I wasn't sure how to feel about it since I felt so exhausted by the end of it. Watching it cold without much prior knowledge can be laborious. As the week went on, I couldn't stop thinking about the film, and the more I thought about, the more brilliant I thought it was. I'm normally not one for making predictions, but I think this could eventually become an underrated classic that filmmakers will study. *SIDE NOTE* Regarding what you said about the film, Incendies, in another video, I couldn't agree more. I only saw the film once around the time it was just released on DVD, and it was a movie that rocked me to my core. Denis Villenueve is working on another level.

If one only focused on the God's Not Dead's, Prayer Room's and evangelical films of America, one could easily miss that we are experiencing a renaissance of religious themes in film, often explored with great sensitivity and wisdom. Calvary and Silence are some of the most piercing explorations of religious pain ever created, and some of the finest films I've ever seen. Add to this Last Days in the Desert, Noah, The Revenant, The Vessel, Selma, Don Verdean, and The Witch - all of which explore deeply religious themes and motifs with aplomb, and things are looking good for God in cinema.

This is lovely. Thank you ❤ Silence is such an underrated masterpiece. One of my favorite movies ever

This is my all time favorite movie-and I have seen over 1,100 movies!

Why do you think this wasn't nominated for more Oscars? It only got nominated for Best Cinematography and didn't win. I really thought this would also be nominated for Best Picture since they can nominate ten films but it wasn't - did the people that decide the Oscars not think it was a good film?

Wonderful

what's that song playing in background?

What’s the music used in the background :( it sounds really good

Renegade Cut Great analysis of the film. Could you maybe do an analysis on the latest Godzilla film, Shin Godzilla?

What is the beautiful song in the background in the first five minutes?

Did Tadanobu learn some English for this film? I know he learned some Mongolian in 2006. He's such an elegant actor, and still compelling even when speaking a foreign tongue...

The most thought provoking film since Schindler's List.

So Leon, how do YOU feel about Silence? I know you're secular, so I'm curious if this made you think or if it was something you respected but just couldn't really get into.

I know most of your episodes are done by commission and that you plan out much of your schedule months in advance, but have you ever thought of doing a Scorsese Month like the Kurosawa and Kubrick months of past years? I think I recall you mentioning you have another featured director month coming later this year, but I can't remember for sure. Keep up the great videos!

This was a fantastic and well crafted video on Silence. The only thing I would like to add is that Faith does not mean accepting something that is irrational or not based on evidence. Faith, in most instances, is mainly a synonym for trust. In the Gospels, the disciples see what Jesus is doing and base their belief in that, an empirical observation. The later Christians then based their beliefs on the testimony of the Gospel writers, not just on some whim. Furthermore, in philosophical circles their are an exorbitant amount of arguments for God's existence and characteristics. This is not to say that we know everything about God, but we can come to certain conclusions about him based on reasoning. It also doesn't suggest that belief in God is based on superstition and "woo-woo" but rather on solid logic and reasoning as seen by authors such as Alvin Plantinga and Robert Spitzer. Faith was discussed well in this video, but I think that it is important to state that Faith does not require anybody to ignore common reason, but rather that Faith actually works in tandem with reason. For example, you could drive your car and know everything their is to know about your vehicle inside and out. However you can never be one hundred percent certain that your vehicle will get you to your destination simply because your knowledge of what may happen on is uncertain, therefore you need. Faith, even in a secular sense.

why don't you mention anything about masahiro shinoda or shushaku endo!?

04:14 what music is that in the background?

I enjoyed this review as it was a well balanced effort to understand a world view, Catholicism, that is not your own. I think it it worth considering that God does recognize mitigating circumstances in the face of human weakness and sin. Even a suicide, one who discards God's great gift of life, may be forgiven if the souls is in a state in which the person may be less or not at all responsible. This kind of apostasy is a kind of spiritual violence but there is reason to believe that, while the martyrs are especially courageous, those who fail to do the same can be similarly forgiven. This point is, and I don't know if I'm making this well, is that this is not a matter of shades of gray but some rights and wrongs are more clearly seen by God than man.

This was great. Congratulations.

This gives me a delightful feel akin to the "shogun" mini-series. This pleases me.

I was absolutely floored by this film, and that's coming from a non-religious gay man!

The reason Christianity failed to spread in Japan, and it still does today, is that Japan puts harmony beyond everything. You have Buddhism and Shintoism living side by side, and often there is a mixture of rituals of both these religions (people prefer a Shinto marriage and a Buddhist funeral). Christianity doesn´t allow this. Either you´re a Christian or not, and that´s it. Also, saying that Christian persecution prevented colonization is very far fetched. Many countries whose population had a Muslim or another religious majority ended up being colonized. The reason the Philippines or the American continent were taken was because they were very easy to conquer as their military technology was backward. Japan would have been also conquered by the Europeans in the middle of the XIXth century, as its years of isolation had made its military technology backward (they still used XVIIth century modeled arquebus), hadn´t it been the Meiji Restoration which took a path to immediately modernize the country.

Fun fact: despite being 1 percent of the population, 8 out the 24 PMs of Japan have been Christians.

Thanks for this video, you got this atheist tear up about faith (:

Silence is the key for a better understanding.

a very good analysis! love it!👌

Spiderman and Han Solo's son as priests, likely....

My favorite movie of 2016

Another interpretation of "faith" that I've heard is that it's "the anticipation of a blessing" ... in other words, thanking God for something that hasn't reached you yet, trusting in him that the blessing will come when God decides the time is right.

I'm not a Patreon member, but I think First Reformed might be worth analyzing. It is probably one of the most subversive Christian movies ever. It turns the "damaged atheist" trope of Kevin Sorbo films on its head, and the church in the film are the oppressors/bystanders rather than the oppressed.

What is the song you used at 3:20? But Besides that I really love the philosophical view on this movie. Looking at religion and its flaws.

👍👍👍

Your philosophy through film is similar to a book I read Psychology through SF.

If faith is different from certainty, why does faith matter?

sebastio becomes more christlike by sacrificing his pride imo

Mm, it would be nice if more of a... certain type of Western Christian watched this movie to get some perspective on what genuine religious persecution of Christians looks like. Of course that would rely on them to have the self-awareness to realise how good they have it. That aside, a fascinating exploration of what god allegedly "wants" by both you and the movie Leon.

😢😢i cried so much for this, why..?is not just about the movie, but what happen next after the rapture,those who left behind, will face the most meanest and the wicked torture ever, i can imagine..so i just cry, for this , and this is an example for little scale, even is so brutal and painfull,so prepare your self , for the time near come. Hopely all the believer will be saved.

If you need an image to remind you and assure you of your faith, then do you really believe?

Great video! Side note: The portuguese names don´t end with a "z" ... that´s spanish ... It´s Rodrigues ... You think that is meaningless but for a portuguese native is apalling ...

I don't really have anything profound to say, just that this was one of the most powerful films I've ever seen. That moment when the voice of Jesus speaks, I was so overcome I started praying in the theater. Inappropriate? Engineered? I think the emotional trip up to that point justified such a reaction.

Why was Buddha tolerated?

Side note... good on the japanese for keeping their religion as the main.

Good ol' "Death of Ase" in the background

Rodriguez wanted to do what Jesus did and make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of others. He thought this ultimate sacrifice would be his life, but because he was so willing to give it up for others his life was not the ultimate price he needed to pay. He needed to pay with the safety of his eternal soul. He had to sacrifice his faith to sacrifice everything for others and in that way he really was like Jesus.

"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God. "For proof denies faith and without faith, I am nothing."

Well, *I* walk by putting one foot in front of the other.

One of the best movies in religious terms

Only god I saw in Silence was Bast, goddess of cats.

It would've been my favorite movie of the year if not for the unnecessary, frankly proposterous, amount of voiceover in this film. The impact of otherwise raw and on point imagery, facial expressions and actions that could speak tons on themselves, the ambiguity of some scenes -- all lost or greatly diminished under the 'well now I feel and think exactly that, and that is what you, the audience, should see here'. Ugh. By the middle of the movie, every time I heard the inner monologue of the protagonist (and that's every other minute here), the only thing I would think was "Shut up! Shut the hell up and let me *see* for myself!!!" There's too much voiceover here for the movie called "Silence". But, other than that, this film is brilliant. You can watch it from any perspective and mindset, and see value, reasonings and conflict within it. Personal struggling with faith and doubt in an outrageous situation, duty, hubris, a commentary on the destructive nature of colonialism and meddling with other cultures, etc. - it's all here, it's all explored; there's room for analysis and enterpretation.. It's visually beautiful and brutal, raw and mesmerizing; the sound (except the vo) and editing is great. I sorely wish someone would make a version without the voiceover from the Garfield's character POV.

This movie portrays Christians as if they don’t believe that heaven exists. Or that they don’t believe Christ when he said “blessed are you when others persecute you”. “To live is in Christ and to die is to gain”. The people in this movie cling on to life as if it’s the most important thing in the universe. But this movie forgets that Jesus defeated death.

When did you hear a rooster crowing? I just rewatched the scene and didn't hear anything, it's literally silent.

I loved this movie. I'm an athiest, and in some ways I think it was more enjoyable becuase I was an athiest. This movie asked questions about religion, cultural differences, and humanity with such an elegant nuance that so many christians, especially in America, don't even know exists. I especially love how at the end the christian priests have decided Japan is somewhat better off without christianity and they don't have the right to push their religious beliefs onto other cultures, and that despite intergrating into the Japanese culture and religion, they are still christians inside. Coming from a christian culture where I'm conditioned to hide my beliefs, I like Christian films acknowledge that there are other beliefs out there and they aren't any better or worse than ours.

While it's true that Christians faced persecution like this, this movie still had an air of Catholic propaganda. What really sealed that concept for me was the inquisitor being so ratty and smarmy. The film starts to go into more interesting territory with Japanese views on spirituality, then just goes back to "he loved god the whole time!" Yes, it's not right how they were treated, but around the same period in time, Christians were burning people for being witches. And I personally feel that the Japanese had a right to purge foreign influences, not in such a violent manner, of course. Christians at the time weren't the most accepting people, so one can only imagine the hostile reaction Christian lands would have issued with a similar situation from let's say Buddhist or whomever.

It kinda feels like this movie is advocating absurdism. That by trying to find inherent meaning in the universe, you're only setting yourself up for disappointment and suffering.

Those are not the definitions of " jealousy and envy"

Jesus Christ: "Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven"... This is where the whole conundrum lies... Plus: "For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn't first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it"

Ah, thosy wacky invisible sky spirits!

Losing my religion

Although Japan was cruel to innocent Christians, what they did was smart for their own survival against western colonization. If it was just about religion, then they would be fine with it. But it wasn't, it was about power and influence. Unfortunately, it's hard to live in a world where religion can just exist and not be used to harm and control others.

No logical person can pursue any religion.

I found this film hard to watch because it's so nihilistic. There is NOTHING positive. Religion comes out as a lie, faith is waisting one's life, Japanese and European culture are horrible (for different reasons) and life is meaningless. I found the tiny cross at the end an affirmation of his continued, pathetic faith. What else does he have but the reality he waisted his life and suffered horribly in pursuit of something that does not exist? And he inflicted this same end on all the people he converted, only they met death by the most horrendous torture. I can't imagine watching this movie a second time.

I don't like the way this movie deals with the languages people speak. It's really dumb to me. Also, I'm not religious so I can't really relate very well with this.