questions
I viewed Silence for the second time last night, and I wanted to try and clarify or interpret several points. (Naturally, there will be spoilers.)
1) At the very start of the film (the opening scene), is that Ferreira providing the first-person narration? And the narration states that he had gone undercover as a Christian priest, hence the fact that he could observe the hot-springs torture without being subjected to it himself. So his "undercover" period came before his apostasy, correct? I wonder how he might have been outed ...
2) Are Rodrigues and Garupe, the two priests who journey to Japan, Spanish or Portugese? And does their saga (meeting with Father Valignano and ultimately receiving approval from him to search for Ferreira in Japan) begin in Spain or Portugal?
I ask in part because Valignano tells them (or at least Rodrigues), "A Dutch trader delivered Father Ferreira's letter while you were traveling from Portugal," or something like that, which would suggest that they are in Spain. But then much later on, one of the Japanese characters (perhaps the interpreter, the one who speaks relatively fluent English) refers to "Portugese, your special language," or something like that (even though we never hear Portugese or Spanish spoken in the film, for obvious reasons pertaining to the casting of English-speaking actors).
3) At one point fairly early on, after arriving in Japan, Rodrigues questions the proselytizing mission, asking something like, "We are doing good work, but is it worth it?" because of the persecution that Japanese Christians endure. Are those comments part of a letter that he was sending back to Valignano? And if so, where and when, exactly, does he write it?
4) A little later, an anguished, kneeling Rodrigues questions God, perhaps for the first time, saying something like, "Your silence is crushing. Do you really exist? Or am I praying to nothingness?" Exactly when and where does he make these comments? Does he do so after the Japanese authorities capture him, or a little beforehand when they round up the Japanese Christians?
5) Speaking of that roundup, why did the authorities end up rounding up several of them? Did that happen because a second Japanese Christian would not agree to confess?
6) Who exposed the presence of Rodrigues and Garupe in the first place? Any ideas? Might it have been Kichijiro?
7) This question is more about interpretation or opinion, but do you feel that Kichijiro is a genuine Christian? I would say, "Yes," but he is obviously a dodgy, compromised figure, pretty much from the start.
8) Did anyone else notice that during the ocean-crucifixion scene, the Japanese Christians' hands were not tied that securely? They seemed like they could slip their hands out of those ties, although even then, their feet were tied and the authorities were watching.
9) What was the exact name of Ferreira's book (or work or what have you), written for the inquisitor? "Deceit: Disclosed and Unmasked"?
10) An apostatized Ferreira is working in a Buddhist temple and living under a Japanese name with a Japanese wife and her Japanese children. Has he ostensibly converted to Buddhism himself? Does the film address this matter explicitly, one way or the other?
11) Ferreira talks about how the Japanese Christians' faith represents not an actual faith in Jesus Christ, but a distortion based on their own animist beliefs. Was he saying that they interpreted the "son of God" (Jesus) to mean the "sun," or that their God was the sun (in that case, who was the son of God, or the son of the sun, so to speak), or is it all the same? And does anyone know how historically accurate Ferreira's interpretation happens to be in terms of the experiences of Japanese Christians? And given the presence of Buddhism, how is Ferreira able to dismiss the Japanese people's intellectual ability to grasp theology beyond nature? Or is he just that bitter and jaded due to his forced apostasy and the stripping of his Christian identity?
12) As the film reveals in flashbacks, the Japanese authorities had lowered Ferreira into the pit. Therefore, was his apostasy a matter of simply saving himself or also saving others? In his spiel to Rodrigues when the latter is facing his moment of truth, Ferreira seems to imply that he had acted in large part to save Japanese Christians (and that Rodrigues should thus do the same), but I am not sure if he is making that implication or, if so, whether one should believe him.
My second screening basically confirmed my first: I feel that Silence is a "good" film—not a "great" one, but rewarding, quietly powerful, and haunting. Paradoxically, most of the movie is vaguely mesmerizing without being gripping. Similarly, the film is quite intellectual in its approach—too intellectual, I would say—yet it creates a dream-like effect where (at least in my case) the viewer remembers bits and fragments and organizing principles yet often forgets certain details and the exact sequencing of certain speeches or events. I suppose that that is why, even after two viewings, I still retain a lot of questions.
Of course, the other reason would be that Silence retains some ambiguities.