Silence

 A powerful metaphor for Christ's suffering on Cross

We see all manner of torture- the cross, the pit, beheading  this is a a film about persecution -the long dark garden 

Two Jesuits volunteer to go to Japan to find information about a missing priest. ( Who is played by Liam Neeson )As the Japanese persecution of the Christians is a in full swing 

I thought Adam Driver gave a great performance. He successfully does a foreign accent - I also think he looks the part. His face is looks pock marked in a scene or two Driver is not a naturally good looking man- I buy Driver as a Portugese Jesuit, it is a bit harder to have 

Garfield does a good job too-Though I think his accent disappears in the film 

The Inquistor is well performed too - his is a jolly almost genial evil. His voice almost sounds comic

The is a Judas,  a christian who keeps apostasing and begging to confess. There is a remarkable scene at the beginning where the judas and Liam Neeson is playing the devil- someone who fell from grace. Like in the wilderness it is Neeson who points out that the Japanese may have misunderstood christanity- he actually argues that the Japanese have no soul- They only understand nature Like the last temptation of Christ. Neeson gives up his office as a priest and has a family.

The Inquistor actually notes the fact the Japan is in the middle of a struggle between European powers This is happening in the background

I note also that the Japanese bo staff has no point, no blade. The samurai don't trust their guards. 

Christianty here is the religion of women and slaves. The fishermen are near naked. 

In the end, the Shogunate falls and the cross triumphs, as it did in the acatcombs