The article complains about the nasty fundamentalists who protested LAST TEMPTATION. I remember the arguments at the time. The impression I got was that Scorese enjoyed the controversy because he thought he would increase publicity for his movie. Instead it blew up in his face.
2
and so it goes. It never leaves. It's always there. I can not get away from it. We do the best we can with what we know at the time. And then we try again. Who was that French teacher at Hayes? Father Totten????
1
A fine well written article. But I feel Marty will say anything including his prayers to promote his films.
It's great to see the movie will finally be released. I read the book in the spring this year, and only when I'd finished it found out there was a movie on the way. I've been checking for the release date ever since, and was beginning to think it might be one of those movies that never quite gets out into the world.
Thank you for this great article that brings out the passion and sheer doggedness that went into getting the film done. It's a shame Shusaku Endo can't see it (he died in 1996, seven years after Scorsese got the rights but twenty years before the release).
Lovely to see the stars working for a pittance (whatever that means) too, that speaks to the collective passion of the team as a whole. Can't wait to see it.
Thank you for this great article that brings out the passion and sheer doggedness that went into getting the film done. It's a shame Shusaku Endo can't see it (he died in 1996, seven years after Scorsese got the rights but twenty years before the release).
Lovely to see the stars working for a pittance (whatever that means) too, that speaks to the collective passion of the team as a whole. Can't wait to see it.
1
I don’t buy the premise of the article that Mr. Scorcese respected his Catholic heritage. Perhaps now, who knows, but not in the past. "The Last Temptation of Christ" is an abomination. In "Raging Bull" the foulest language just happens to be mouthed under Catholic icons hanging on the wall.
Is he trying to makes amends now? If so, fine. But don’t whitewash his past record of anti-Catholic defamation, which would be considered hate speech if it was any culture other than the Catholic that was being degraded.
Is he trying to makes amends now? If so, fine. But don’t whitewash his past record of anti-Catholic defamation, which would be considered hate speech if it was any culture other than the Catholic that was being degraded.
1
Splendid article, beautifully written! I was moved to read about Martin Scorsese's passion for questions of faith and artistic truth in his films. The story of the two actors (one Jewish, the other Anglican) practicing the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola and learning about Jesuit idiosyncrasies and theological issues is extraordinary, even while it speaks to Scorsese's passion for artistic detail. As an agnostic brought up in the Catholic faith, I was immensely moved by the story of Scorsese's human "salvation" through art.
1
I think Jesus asks us to honor the poor. That is the meaning of faith. That is the faith of someone like Dorothy Day. The faith wrangle of Day doesn't seem to be the faith wrangle of Ignatius. I could be wrong--maybe it is the same in the long run. Francis the Jesuit, I hope, is integrating Dorothy Day with Ignatius Loyola.
2
Reminds me of William Peter Blatty trying to make sense of Christianity in his follow-up to The Exorcist entitled "The Ninth Configuration" (formerly called "Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane"). In fact the young priest in the "Exorcist" faced a crisis of faith, as did other films. Both dealt with the dark side of human nature's beliefs and superstitions and the lack of faith to go the distance.
Please, young'uns: "He is 74, compact and gray, with tremendous life in his eyes and a youthful ardor..." No, his ardor is not youthful. Consider slackers and wan wannabe millenniial hipsters. Scorsese' ardor is the passion of a brilliant and seasoned old man. Old.
Ageism may be the most prevalent "ism" in America. We use it to dismiss people, marginalize them, not hire them and label their finest qualities as "youthful." Get off your devices and go out to talk with old people in your community.
Ageism may be the most prevalent "ism" in America. We use it to dismiss people, marginalize them, not hire them and label their finest qualities as "youthful." Get off your devices and go out to talk with old people in your community.
11
He is not "old"! He is a passionate, young in mind and heart 74-year-old artist. And the article makes clear how passionate this director is regarding detail and questions of faith... A great article!
1
The inverted misinterpretations of the intrinsic-to-being instinct of survival is absolutely common-to-being. The instinct itself is natural. The twisted interpretations of christ's teaching by uninformed childish minds has stained Western mankind to the degree that this article exposes. We now have released sufficient information from probing the process of phenomenalization that we are faced with an emergent paradigm inversion.
I have always been uncomfortable with the symbol for the Christian religion being Christ suffering death by torture in the worst way they could think of in those days. I much prefer Buda contemplating life under the Bode tree. The underlying philosophies are subliminally projected through those images. Inner thoughts of peace or cruelty and violence. The Temptation of Christ is in my opinion a chronical of torture that appeals to some who have a prurient interest in that kind of (sick) entertainment and has nothing to do with religion.
And why are almost all members of the "church" so offended by the idea that Jesus may have lived a life punctuated by the most valued of human experiences like love, parenting, and sex. Even his virgin birth had to be disconnected from normal bodily functions.
Perhaps if Christ were depicted as more human than divine there would be a stronger connection between him and mankind.
And why are almost all members of the "church" so offended by the idea that Jesus may have lived a life punctuated by the most valued of human experiences like love, parenting, and sex. Even his virgin birth had to be disconnected from normal bodily functions.
Perhaps if Christ were depicted as more human than divine there would be a stronger connection between him and mankind.
5
"The Last Temptation of the Christ" tried to render Jesus closer to human than other depictions. And yes, the virgin birth story disconnects Jesus and his ethics from physicality. This disconnect underlies all manner of torture - physical, mental and emotional.
Faith, schmaith!
2
Martin Scorsese's film about faith are his greatest legacy and his ultimate confession. Kundun and The Last Temptation of Christ are powerful and soulful. I can't wait to see Silence.
2
Catholics sure are a conflicted bunch.
Maybe it my Baptist upbringing, but stepping on an icon does not condemn one under most non-Catholic teachings. By grace alone is what is taught outside the walls of Roman Catholicism. If one receives grace as a gift how can one lose it if it were eternal?
The article is very interesting and very well written. The movie will be very good. But the central premise, based upon Catholic understanding, makes little sense other than to illustrate a set of beliefs and the conflicts they set up. Just as forced confessions are not to be trusted, forced recantation should not be as well.
Maybe it my Baptist upbringing, but stepping on an icon does not condemn one under most non-Catholic teachings. By grace alone is what is taught outside the walls of Roman Catholicism. If one receives grace as a gift how can one lose it if it were eternal?
The article is very interesting and very well written. The movie will be very good. But the central premise, based upon Catholic understanding, makes little sense other than to illustrate a set of beliefs and the conflicts they set up. Just as forced confessions are not to be trusted, forced recantation should not be as well.
2
Suppose. . . that the underlying assumptions and conceits of religion are wholly a human invention. That there is no actual divinity beyond what we posit. That all the machinations, activities, words expended on the idea are just that: something with the ability to move and change humans, but nothing that reaches beyond our atmosphere, The people who have died believing are no more or less dead than the people who have died disbelieving. The things humans do to each other, for religious or political reasons, are just things humans do. The pain inflicted or endured is just pain. Why don't we seem to be able to opt out of the situation? How does "belief" become an operating manual for a species?
5
I read SILENCE in an English translation years ago, and felt the spiritual influence of those missionaries who took the Gospel to places which feared its power.
1
Was there a reason the author chose not to mention that "Silence" was made into a film by the great Japanese director Masahiro Shinoda in 1971? It even played at Cannes. You'd think the comparison of Scorcese's version with a Japanese version would be important. Perhaps the studio or director asked the author not to mention it. It seems like a pretty big omission.
6
Well, apparently Shusaku Endo was not a big fan of Shinoda's adaptation, if that means anything...
Long article. Recently watched 'Cape Fear': what a turnip! (as the French say.) 'The Gangs of New York' was even worse. Hope this one is better. Scorsese lacks humanity, tends to rely on violence to impress. He should stop thinking so much and start feeling. I will admit that he has an eye for the camera. Needs an intuitive assistant when selecting scenarios.
Scorsese's body of work just gets better and better. But am surprised that he didn't mention the screenplay by Jay Cocks, who by all accounts has done a fantastic job.
1
there should be a spoiler alert, otherwise an excellent article..
Paul Elie
Beautifully written and thank you for sharing the story behind the film Silence and how Martin Scorsese childhood / life experiences have shaped his films.
Beautifully written and thank you for sharing the story behind the film Silence and how Martin Scorsese childhood / life experiences have shaped his films.
1
Powerful article. As an ardent fan of Scorcese, I never understood the level of condemnation of "The Last Temptation of Christ." For me, a practicing Catholic, the film celebrates an aspect of Christ's ultimate choice to be crucified.
What could be more difficult for a man-God than to choose between a normal human life and the call to eternal sacrifice? I simply love that movie: for me, Christ's ultimate renunciation was the most powerful example of Christian love, of being "His brothers' keeper" of all.
I can't wait to see "Silence," as I'm supposing, from reading its making, that it sets up a familiar dilemma of "greater good" in Catholic theology. But it also promises to ask, and hopefully answer, another almost unanswerable question in Catholic faith: at what point does a believer has to commit serious sin in order to redeem others who apostasized for the wrong reason, to stop the torture only for themselves.
In a sense, Father Rodrigues it seems to commit the ultimate Christ-like sacrifice, renouncing all that's important to him--superficially, his priesthood, his Catholic belonging--in order to spare the suffering of his brothers. Isn't that what the Church, in essence, asks us to do every day: tackle the impossible for one another in order to get closer to God?
I can't wait to see a film produced by this master craftsman, and thank the Times for this fine article.
What could be more difficult for a man-God than to choose between a normal human life and the call to eternal sacrifice? I simply love that movie: for me, Christ's ultimate renunciation was the most powerful example of Christian love, of being "His brothers' keeper" of all.
I can't wait to see "Silence," as I'm supposing, from reading its making, that it sets up a familiar dilemma of "greater good" in Catholic theology. But it also promises to ask, and hopefully answer, another almost unanswerable question in Catholic faith: at what point does a believer has to commit serious sin in order to redeem others who apostasized for the wrong reason, to stop the torture only for themselves.
In a sense, Father Rodrigues it seems to commit the ultimate Christ-like sacrifice, renouncing all that's important to him--superficially, his priesthood, his Catholic belonging--in order to spare the suffering of his brothers. Isn't that what the Church, in essence, asks us to do every day: tackle the impossible for one another in order to get closer to God?
I can't wait to see a film produced by this master craftsman, and thank the Times for this fine article.
25
"The closing scenes of his “Silence” follow Rodrigues through the decades after he apostatizes."
Did I really need to know the ending before viewing the film (or reading the book)? I guess I don't have to do either anymore, now that the cat's out of the bag. Thanks for that.
P.S. As gauche as the words "spoiler alert" might seem in a New York Times article, it could help your readers who appreciate the element of surprise.
Did I really need to know the ending before viewing the film (or reading the book)? I guess I don't have to do either anymore, now that the cat's out of the bag. Thanks for that.
P.S. As gauche as the words "spoiler alert" might seem in a New York Times article, it could help your readers who appreciate the element of surprise.
12
Surprise? You want a surprise ending in a story that's all about a priest's struggle between faith and actions? Go watch "Transformers" or "Fast and Furious;" might be more entertaining for you.
4
Think this is one of the best pieces I've read on NYT touching on the faith of an Artist and the faith he has put into a project on it. Very thoughtful and approachable. As a former missionary, many many times I've questioned the nature of faith and my part in it. Some days I think I made a positive difference, some days I think I made the world a worst place to live in, some days I'm aghast at what I left behind, most days accept the only thing which resulted was a humbling of my own 'righteous' spirit. Faith isn't a permanent choice once you have announced it, if a person of faith is honest. Its a daily choice with regrets, struggles with moments of joy.
29
Great piece of writing. I always loved Scorsese. Let's argue forever what his best film is. I think King of Conedy is riveting- I've watched it many times over the years. Can't wait to see The Silence.
4
Well if it's anything like Kundun I'm in. That's Scorsese for you though - the sacred and the profane, often mixed together.
1
Fascinating article. Brought me back to my childhood. To a scene in maybe third grade. The nun either lining us up or maybe asking us to imagine it. This was in the 50's, during the Korean War (though I didn't know that at the time). Or was it the threat of communism due to McCarthy? During that time we were sometimes asked to kneel down under our desks - practice for being bombed. But this particular day we were practicing to be martyrs.
The whole idea was that we were to imagine an invasion, being lined up and asked to assent to being Catholic, after which we'd be shot.
Third Grade. That's about 8 years old. I know that because I taught third grade for 6 years. We were little kids.
I was a little kid. I didn't want to die. Obviously. But obviously, this was not what the nun expected. And unlike this book and movie and article, it was not a subject up for discussion. Even though, in my heart of heart, I realized I was not martyr material.
Talk about a formative experience!
It's not easy to disagree with a nun. Not when your 8 years old anyway. But I realized then and there that I would never stand up under torture. It didn't shake my faith really. And amazingly, it didn't make me feel guilty or fearful of divine retribution.
Martyrdom has never made sense to me. It seems senseless to me still.
Did she really want us to be martyrs?
The whole idea was that we were to imagine an invasion, being lined up and asked to assent to being Catholic, after which we'd be shot.
Third Grade. That's about 8 years old. I know that because I taught third grade for 6 years. We were little kids.
I was a little kid. I didn't want to die. Obviously. But obviously, this was not what the nun expected. And unlike this book and movie and article, it was not a subject up for discussion. Even though, in my heart of heart, I realized I was not martyr material.
Talk about a formative experience!
It's not easy to disagree with a nun. Not when your 8 years old anyway. But I realized then and there that I would never stand up under torture. It didn't shake my faith really. And amazingly, it didn't make me feel guilty or fearful of divine retribution.
Martyrdom has never made sense to me. It seems senseless to me still.
Did she really want us to be martyrs?
11
About the complex and unsuccessful relationship between the Portuguese jesuits and the Japanese civilisation, it would be unjust not to mention the beautiful film (1994) of Joao Mario Grilo "Os Olhos da Ásia", (Asia's Eyes) with Geraldine Chaplin.
3
The Last Temptation of Christ will grow in stature as time goes by and eventually be recognized as one of Scorsese's best (if not the best). It is the best film about Christianity because it explores the most distinctive aspect (and strangest) of Christian "faith:" the insistence that the Creator-Creation distinction of the Jews and the mind-body (spirit-flesh) dualism of the Greeks are compatible and even equivalent.
5
The whole premise or assumption of embarking upon the so called "spiritual direction" that begins with individual imagination is ludicrous. Yet another is seeking faith through one's own personal experience as guidance or affirmation of some kind. Both are at best secondary and are usually bogus claims of not only spirituality but faith personified. The true spiritual direction and authentic faith are found and sustained in the Word of God--the incarnation and resurrection of that Word--that is the person and the work of Jesus Christ.
1
That began with personal experience too. (It's personal experience all the way down.) Does true spiritual direction always have to come from someone else's personal experience?
This guy has had five wives, multiple discarded "partners", and all his movies are about men. The narcissism is through the roof with Scorcese and it's boring.
8
Yeah, it may be so, but can you imagine what he would have been like if he had a lesser faith?
I hope those stones you're casting don't circle back to your glass house.
I hope those stones you're casting don't circle back to your glass house.
I agree
Bravo for your courage . Never was much of a Scorcese fan - very limited in my estimation . Seems to always lack compassion or real humanity .
Just my opinion
Bravo for your courage . Never was much of a Scorcese fan - very limited in my estimation . Seems to always lack compassion or real humanity .
Just my opinion
Martin, this is for you and only you.
I commend your devout drive in searching for meaning and truth to this life that none of us have ever asked for. It has notable resonance for anyone who sees life in real terms but wonders what more there is. We have had similar childhood backgrounds---I am the youngest of three boys from the Bronx, raised by their mother, who all went to Cardinal Hayes in the 60s and I too was taken to theater to see films by Catholic teachers (The Guns of August in lower Manhattan rings loud and profound). I too have asthma and read Shogun while traveling on the bullet train in Japan. But I must stop you in this prolonged effort of yours to make the influence of Father Francis Principe (the man with the pronounced twitch to his neck and the priestly collar that seemed always too tight for his liking) as an individual of profound positive influence. I laid wary eyes on Fr. Principe and my brothers bore witness to his brutality in the classroom. It wasn't sexual abuse like I saw from others I once respected (Fr. Charles Kavanaugh comes to mind) but a subjugation of impressionable children with physical abuse, humiliation and abject fear in not having the right answer to an asked question. You may have an emotional debt to Father Principe but you would have found your genius without his existence.
My family was terrorized by Francis Principe--Francis Principe is not worthy of the esteem from one of America's greatest living artists.
I commend your devout drive in searching for meaning and truth to this life that none of us have ever asked for. It has notable resonance for anyone who sees life in real terms but wonders what more there is. We have had similar childhood backgrounds---I am the youngest of three boys from the Bronx, raised by their mother, who all went to Cardinal Hayes in the 60s and I too was taken to theater to see films by Catholic teachers (The Guns of August in lower Manhattan rings loud and profound). I too have asthma and read Shogun while traveling on the bullet train in Japan. But I must stop you in this prolonged effort of yours to make the influence of Father Francis Principe (the man with the pronounced twitch to his neck and the priestly collar that seemed always too tight for his liking) as an individual of profound positive influence. I laid wary eyes on Fr. Principe and my brothers bore witness to his brutality in the classroom. It wasn't sexual abuse like I saw from others I once respected (Fr. Charles Kavanaugh comes to mind) but a subjugation of impressionable children with physical abuse, humiliation and abject fear in not having the right answer to an asked question. You may have an emotional debt to Father Principe but you would have found your genius without his existence.
My family was terrorized by Francis Principe--Francis Principe is not worthy of the esteem from one of America's greatest living artists.
12
Is this really the place for psychotherapy.
1
Is this really a place for religion???
2
Yes, when what has been said here and will be said here invites it.
1
This film sounds like it will deal with spirituality, acts of supreme faith and martyrdom - again - from the perspective of the ascetic proselytizing male leader role. Since I am alive to speak this words, I would ask anyone reading this very good article about a very great filmmaker who has likely made another great, great film, that in the middle east, ISIS is giving women to its fighters. We in the USA have a VP elect who in his debate said that his state is first in separating infants from their mothers to be given to patriarchy based childless couples so those couples can "build families." In my lifetime, in my life actually, pregnant mothers were tied down flat on their backs for penance in religious based programs determined stamp out sexual activity. These programs instilled the same sort of learned helplessness and Pavlovian conditioning by "mortifying" the body in order to purify the supposed spirit through suffering. It is sadistic torture no matter who inflicts it or receives it. While I might personally, and I am a nobody, be tired of films about the tortured inner choices of males in their male dominated world, I look forward to seeing the film.
5
Like it or not, males make up half the human race, and injustice is rampant throughout human activity, not to mention politics. Your anguish might be the basis of another movie, not the one this article is about.
5
What you say is true. I guess I do not like it that while half the population is male, far, far more than half the films about spiritual turmoil, action and martyrdom are made about male experience...likely because most religions are headed by males. Much of the religious conflict in this world is instigated by males, pored over my males, commented upon by males, and perpetuated by males. That is my point. My comment is about the article about the filmmaker about the film which is about male religious leaders and their conflicts. Proportionality? Tim's comment below addresses what I'm talking about from the male perspective.
I agree. Maybe Marty should make a film about Theresa of Avila or Catherine of Siena next time. Perhaps Sophia Coppola or Kathyrn Bigelow could be tapped to show us these very human women beneath the halo of sainthood.
Granted, I just skimmed the article, but could someone point me to one place where the screenwriter was mentioned? I know Scorsese didn't write it, but the piece makes it seem as if he did. Why does the essential work of the writer always get buried? This has been going on a long time, and it's shameful that critics and journalists, themselves writers, do not see the injustice of this, and perpetuate the problem. Do newspaper editors take credit for their writers' work? I doubt they would put up with it. Yet screenwriters are routinely ignored. Wake up and put an end to the utterly bogus auteur theory.
11
It's also odd that no mention is made of the fact that the Endo novel has been filmed previously--and quite successfully--in 1971 by the Japanese director Masahiro Shinoda.
Jay Cocks and Scorsese were "Silence"'s screenwriters. I agree that both need to be given credit. Thank you for bringing this up.
Dear Marty Scorcese, please make a movie of the Council of Jerusalem, which was about much more than inculturation and the clash over whether gentile Christians should be held to Jewish law.
The Council of Jerusalem was a summit between gentile missionary Saul aka St. Paul and Jakob aka James — one of Jesus's brothers and the acknowledged leader of the Jewish followers of Jesus.
Saul comes to Jerusalem as the lesser-status person — hat in hand and asking the Council to grant him permission to initiate gentiles without demanding they be circumcised, a deal-breaker if there ever was one.
Saul becomes St. Paul and his version of Jesus and Jesus's message becomes Christian orthodoxy.
James, the authority figure and Jesus's successor, is murdered in CE 62 by the high priest Ananus. (My theory: out of spiritual jealousy.) James becomes so obscure that even devout, bible-reading Christians have no idea who I'm referring to when I bring up his name.
James, an ultra-devout Jew, eventually grants Paul permission to do his thing, an act attesting to James's spiritual flexibility. And I cannot imagine a strict Jew like James agonizing over trampling on a "godly" image already banned by the Decalogue.
For James, the spirit does not overrule practicality. The two can live in complete harmony, but, unfortunately, the orthodoxy birthed by Paul and internalized by Jesuits, creates unnecessary internal and external conflicts.
James's people practiced another Way.
The Council of Jerusalem was a summit between gentile missionary Saul aka St. Paul and Jakob aka James — one of Jesus's brothers and the acknowledged leader of the Jewish followers of Jesus.
Saul comes to Jerusalem as the lesser-status person — hat in hand and asking the Council to grant him permission to initiate gentiles without demanding they be circumcised, a deal-breaker if there ever was one.
Saul becomes St. Paul and his version of Jesus and Jesus's message becomes Christian orthodoxy.
James, the authority figure and Jesus's successor, is murdered in CE 62 by the high priest Ananus. (My theory: out of spiritual jealousy.) James becomes so obscure that even devout, bible-reading Christians have no idea who I'm referring to when I bring up his name.
James, an ultra-devout Jew, eventually grants Paul permission to do his thing, an act attesting to James's spiritual flexibility. And I cannot imagine a strict Jew like James agonizing over trampling on a "godly" image already banned by the Decalogue.
For James, the spirit does not overrule practicality. The two can live in complete harmony, but, unfortunately, the orthodoxy birthed by Paul and internalized by Jesuits, creates unnecessary internal and external conflicts.
James's people practiced another Way.
7
Choosing Evil for Good
In traditional Catholic teaching abortion was considered so intrinsically evil as to warrant an automatic excommunication. Pope Francis has instituted a more merciful approach, perhaps because some see good in a woman’s right to choose or at least some evil where it is denied.
From New York's Governor Mario Cuomo to Hillary Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, many Catholics have eloquently defended the right to abortion as being fundamental to the separation of church and state. It is fair to ask if they are doing this for the some perceived greater good like Father Sebastian Rodrigues in “Silence”, or is it simply to avoid suffering the loss of political influence in their party. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is a pro-abortion Catholic that is being challenged for the minority leadership position by Rep. John Dennis. Dennis was a rare pro-life Democrat that recently changed to support the Democratic platform on abortion – presumably a political litmus test for Democratic leadership.
"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil."
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
Thank you St. Paul and thank you Martin Scorsese for lives well lived.
In traditional Catholic teaching abortion was considered so intrinsically evil as to warrant an automatic excommunication. Pope Francis has instituted a more merciful approach, perhaps because some see good in a woman’s right to choose or at least some evil where it is denied.
From New York's Governor Mario Cuomo to Hillary Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, many Catholics have eloquently defended the right to abortion as being fundamental to the separation of church and state. It is fair to ask if they are doing this for the some perceived greater good like Father Sebastian Rodrigues in “Silence”, or is it simply to avoid suffering the loss of political influence in their party. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is a pro-abortion Catholic that is being challenged for the minority leadership position by Rep. John Dennis. Dennis was a rare pro-life Democrat that recently changed to support the Democratic platform on abortion – presumably a political litmus test for Democratic leadership.
"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil."
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
Thank you St. Paul and thank you Martin Scorsese for lives well lived.
4
The novel is so brutal it is almost impossible to read. The Japanese are extremely brutal. I do not see any benefit, artistic or moral deriving from it.
4
I read Silence and I didn't find it brutal. I found it boring. I will never understand why he couldn't just step on the fumie, claim he apostatized, and then go on believing whatever he wants. It was very melodramatic.
As a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor, I find that religious "art" is usually either treacly hagiography or dogmatically facile: Christ is never tempted; the saints never waiver; etc. But the truth is faith is always a struggle, and the best religious movies (Romero, The Mission, Last Temptation, Last Days in the Desert) dare to wrestle honestly with spiritual issues. Thank you, Mr. Scorsese, for your labor of love to bring "Silence" to the screen.
10
it's deeply sad that the only way some people can find meaning in life is to believe in meaningless superstitions.
7
It is also sad that some find meaning in life by demeaning the beliefs of others.
3
drollere, it's deeply sad that you don't find enough comfort in your own unbelief to allow other people their "meaningless superstitions." Faith is a gift, like the talent for art or music, potentially there and often unable to be awakened past a certain age.
3
But they are finding meaning. That may be the most important thing of all. Humans find meaning in many ways, and portraying them can be important to the rest of us. The rich diversity of human thought and experience, for good and for ill.
7
As a 67 year old black woman, Protestant Missionary Baptist, the first thoughts I had of this new picture by a love of mine and my family, was Shogun. some of the Jesuits names or maybe the actor who played them, sound familiar. I will love to see this piece. I have none of the preconceived notions. It does not bother me that Christ could have married Mary Magdalene who was NOT the whore in the parable. She was a wealthy man's wife. I know hat from TEACHING Sunday school, not told something. I does not bother me, also, that Mary and Joseph may have had a family. They were Jews. I have read the history of my religion which started with Catholicism and left. the history is not pretty and I am sorry to write but some of what I read by him about the torture administered on the Jesuits made me think of the auto de fe's against 'heretics'. some called such just because they read the Bible. Did the Japanese learn and administer using what they knew of Christian culture? Such as their lack of cleanliness, as in bathing, was abhorrent to them. From reading of that time in Japan, thank you James Clavell, the Shogun and samurai rules of law were the rule. We know how they love to shove their culture down someone else's throats.
6
Maybe "Silence" will also work as some sort of filmic apology for "Wolf of Wall Street", a piece of true pornography that is a large stain, even if a profitable one, on Scorsese's brilliant oeuvre. It is also somewhat ironic to talk about Christian martyrdom without mentioning the countless lives lost throughout history under the tyranny of the Catholic Church, whether through the Holy Inquisition or the forced Christianization of native peoples throughout the world.
27
On the other hand 'The Wolf of Wall Street' could be seen as an indictment of the excesses of capitalism at its worst.
16
That's a charitable view, but one that overlooks the extremes to which the filmmakers went to make it all look so delectable. I mean: how many times does one need to show someone sniffing cocaine out of a woman's butt cheeks to make that point across?
3
I don't understand the conflict of the priest. Faith is something you hold in your heart. Practicing religious ritual may be an outward sign of your faith, but it's not a necessary one. Why not claim to renounce your faith, if you truly keep it in your heart and believe in your God? No one can know what you truly believe, so in a sense, pretend to apostatize, while holding on to your faith. I don't see why that's not a possible choice for those in a renounce-or-die situation. You can say anything, promise anything, all the while keeping true to your belief. Isn't that an option? Particularly if you're given the option of saving others? Would God care so much if you falsely denied him, if it could save another life? Would you want to worship a God who did?
14
That last question sums it up in a nutshell. So much of old testament, at least, portrays a jealous god who will stop at nothing to smite 'his' enemies: those who for whatever reason, choose to worship another (Baal, for instance). Why did Yahweh get to be 'the one'?
I'm guessing that the thought of giving in to a buly & doing what he says just coz he said so is morally repugnant to some. Some of us consider it a dishonour to say or promise something & not keep our word. All through history there have been people willing to "cut their conscience to fit this year's fashions" while others "prefer to die standing than live on their knees". Something tells me you would have fit right in in the McCarthy era.
Bingo. I am so very glad i was raised without religion. It was never bad mouthed, just not talked about. Down through many decades i have a faith, but i never really talk about it. I struggle along in the hope there really is a God and i am doing some good in the world because i happen to exist. The God of our more than 2 trillion galaxies would understand. That's all i need to know.
It has always puzzled me that the Japanese who were so welcoming to one foreign religious tradition - Buddhism - would reach so negatively to another - Catholicism ! Is it because of Christian tradition's own supremacist and intolerant attitude to other systems ? Societies in Asia have repeatedly had multiple religious traditions co-exist for centuries and yet things changed with the arrival of various Abrahamic faith traditions all of which place primacy of "faith" and the infallibility of their dogma ! Buddhism and Shintoism - the native religious tradition of Japan - got along fine overall ! Is it because the suave Catholics of today fail to the vile language their missionaries might have used (and vile things they might have done) when dealing with other people's religions especially in the glory days of colonialism ? One wonders if these are simply stories of good ethical people or really religious bigots !
14
If one is looking for "religious bigots" one is sure to find them, probably very close to home.
3
I've read this novel a couple of times and have recommended it to dozens of people. I've been telling pushing and promoting this film for weeks. I was beginning to fear it wouldn't live up to my expectations but this well done piece on Scorsese and his passion for his film as given me new hope. And, Brother Martin, should you read this silly little comment I want you to know the Communion I felt with you when I "Picture(d) an 8-year-old boy standing right here..." Always. The rhythm of life, the origin of the heartbeat, the Holy Mass. United in Christ - his Cross and his Glory - the only true unity of mankind.
8
He is not always right. In a review of Fellini's , "La Dolce Vita", he referred to a dream scene. There were no dream scenes in the movie..
Saw the trailer and read the article: I'll skip this, yet again, religious silliness. The question of the 21st century is Science v. religion...science wins!
7
Science tends to monopolize one side of the brain, the left side. Faith uses the right side and intuition. Einstein used both.
6
Actually both can win, and will win, living side by side.
On very strong point of the film, apparently that many commentators totally missed, is that your human attributes are based on religious teachings and values... which are about living, and how to live, a good human life.
So religion and science co-exist.
Science is discovery of mystery.
And every Scientist has Faith. In his work. He believes he can discover.
But Science has nothing to do with teaching human values.
On very strong point of the film, apparently that many commentators totally missed, is that your human attributes are based on religious teachings and values... which are about living, and how to live, a good human life.
So religion and science co-exist.
Science is discovery of mystery.
And every Scientist has Faith. In his work. He believes he can discover.
But Science has nothing to do with teaching human values.
4
Scorsese is brilliant but I wish to remind readers that faith is belief in the absence of, or despite, evidence. Saint Augustine, about 1500 years ago, advised that when science and religion disagree, go with science. Faith is not a synonym for virtue.
21
Faith is believing in something in which the individual knows deep down, is not true.
1
Credo quia impossibile.
--Tertullian
--Tertullian
1
joe, true and factual are two different things. People find truth in religion even if that truth is carried in a mythological framework. It's like the truth you find in poetry to fictionn of any type.
2
I have loved Martin Scorsese ever since I saw "Mean Streets" my junior year in college. Like his hero, Akira Kurosawa, Mr. Scorsese's films are rich, complex meditations on human behavior, morality, and truth. I have always understood that his films represent his point of view and that us, lucky viewers, are invited into that world, into his mind for sometimes life changing experiences. That I studied art history perhaps makes it easier for me to "get" some of the subtext of his art. Then again, maybe I just love a good movie. Thanks Marty!
10
I read this book about 30 years ago and was very moved and challenged. Unfortunately I won't be able to see the film because it is too difficult for me to mentally reckon with this visually. My own imagination already almost does me in.
6
I have already reserved the book at the public library. Thank you for the recommendation.
1
Excellent article about one of the world's greatest filmmakers. Thank you. Looking forward to this movie.
13
Waiting eagerly to watch the movie. Thanks for the background on the movie, and the short portrayal of Mr. Scorsese's career trajectory.
13
Beautifully written. Thank you!
5
Interesting, I sent a comment before and it was not published, so I will repeat trusting some clerical error simply happened.
My point was that in spite of all, the " medium is the message " and the world unfolds as it should. And all this happens very pointedly when someone like Mary continues to be open to his passions. Each of us can do more if we but stay honest to ourselves. It does not necessarily mean success, but it means fulfillment which in turn leads to some very interesting intersections like now, finally, Marty is able to release the film - exactly now - not years ago and it might just be that exactly now it is when it is most needed, potentially most understood, and thanks to Marty most effective in its presentation, further presentation of all that it is to be human, as by example.
My point was that in spite of all, the " medium is the message " and the world unfolds as it should. And all this happens very pointedly when someone like Mary continues to be open to his passions. Each of us can do more if we but stay honest to ourselves. It does not necessarily mean success, but it means fulfillment which in turn leads to some very interesting intersections like now, finally, Marty is able to release the film - exactly now - not years ago and it might just be that exactly now it is when it is most needed, potentially most understood, and thanks to Marty most effective in its presentation, further presentation of all that it is to be human, as by example.
5
Religious movies are difficult to make because the big screen treatment tends to blow out of all proportion the relationship between a man and his god that is at the center of religion.. I don't know what the big fuss was about re "The Last Temptation ..." I thought it a bit ludicrous with Harvey Keitel sounding like Judas of West 42nd Street. The best treatment of the Jesus story, in my opinion, was Pier Paolo Pasolini's "The Gospel According to St. Matthew." It portrayed Christ as a young firebrand and rang so true. All that said, I'll look forward to "Silence," because attention must be paid to Scorcese's work.
1
Recently I asked a zealous, patriotic, USA, God bless America, my country love it or leave it type person if they would renounce their USA citizenship in exchange for world peace. (S)he said no.
Ratchet that one up a bit, Scorsese, would a Jesuit-trained 'man of God' renounce Jesus in order to save others from torture and death? An excruciating moral dilemma.
Can't wait to see this film. Maybe it will strengthen my faith.
Ratchet that one up a bit, Scorsese, would a Jesuit-trained 'man of God' renounce Jesus in order to save others from torture and death? An excruciating moral dilemma.
Can't wait to see this film. Maybe it will strengthen my faith.
30
I thought Silence was a great book, a great novel.
But I can't see how that's an "excruciating moral dilemma" in any way. Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with religious people. Of course you save others from torture and death if you can. If you're worshipping a god who wants you to do otherwise, maybe you really have some thinking to do.
But I can't see how that's an "excruciating moral dilemma" in any way. Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with religious people. Of course you save others from torture and death if you can. If you're worshipping a god who wants you to do otherwise, maybe you really have some thinking to do.
7
"(S)he said no."
People like this have lost sight of what is important in living.
People like this have lost sight of what is important in living.
6
USA citizenship and faith in God are not exactly equal. Faith and patriotism are not equal. Is the secular mind incapable of experiencing God? That might make another Scorsese movie.
4
Our greatest director! I loved both "The Last Temptation of Christ" and the George Harrison documentary as well as his other masterpieces like "Raging Bull" and "Mean Streets." His films always involve piercing questions about faith, betrayal, self-deception and corruption.
Can't wait for this film!
Can't wait for this film!
33
I try to be good.
9
Considering our current cultural and political circumstances, I trust "Silence" will produce a long and thoughtful noise in December.
11
Scorsese is the first to say that he makes films from a very particular perspective and that they should not be taken as a representation of the truth of anything other than that of his own personal point of view. His engagements with Catholicism are idiosyncratic and should therefore not be accepted as accurate representations of the faith. They may be accurate representations of his relation to Catholicism, but anyone who has seen one or two of his films knows what that is already.
10
Scorsese hits upon something universal for us all in his comments, and I credit the writer from an illuminating piece: We remember moments from our childhood that become spiritual in their way, part of our training for life, and I look forward to seeing the protagonist in "Silence" and imagining him as a kid who could never have anticipated the challenge he would face in a foreign land.
22
I read Endo's book "Silence" while researching my own book about Christian missionary experience in 19th century Japan. I was new to faith and found the story quite compelling, particularly the dilemma facing the old priest and what his actions say about true faith. I've been waiting for Scorsese's movie to come out for the decade I've been working on my book: "A Christian in the Land of the Gods: Journey of Faith in Japan" (Cascade Books, 2016). In many ways, my book is a sequel to the story told in "Silence". I can't wait to see the film and I hope it wins an Oscar.
35
I thought "The Third Miracle" with Ed Harris as the priest and Anne Heche as a lapsed Catholic, and her role in a miracle, was well-done and thought-provoking.
2
The 26 Catholic martyrs of Nagasaki were parboiled over steam vents, around the time St Francis Xavier was evangelizing there, thru a horrible winter and much deprivation. I was happy to visit the church in Paris, with its own Metro stop near Invalides, named for the saint.
When the Japanese army in late 1930s harassed a missionary group near Nagasaki led by Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, a busy religious pamphlet & news operation was underway. Their red brick church was the largest Catholic Church in Asia, then. Fr. Kolbe was sent to Auschwitz after the Japanese sent him back to Germany, and gave his life there in the place of a Jewish father when a group of prisoners were executed in reprisal for an escape attempt, or similar. When the A-bomb hit Nagasaki, the brick church just a few miles away was undamaged.
Online is the report of Bishop Ito in 1984 re: the weeping statue of the Virgin Mary in a convent in the Nagasaki suburb of Akita. Agnes Sasegawa, a Buddhist-turned-Catholic nun made deaf by a deathly illness, began to hear messages in 1973 telepathically from the 17-in. wooden statue on the chapel's altar, which wept human tears daily, even when isolated in a lucite box, etc. "Your deafness pains you, doesn't it?," the voice asked the nun. "You will suffer for eight years, then I shall cure you," the voice said. Sister reported 8 years of (dire) messages in weekly confession. One day in 1981 the tears and messages stopped, and the nun's hearing was restored.
When the Japanese army in late 1930s harassed a missionary group near Nagasaki led by Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, a busy religious pamphlet & news operation was underway. Their red brick church was the largest Catholic Church in Asia, then. Fr. Kolbe was sent to Auschwitz after the Japanese sent him back to Germany, and gave his life there in the place of a Jewish father when a group of prisoners were executed in reprisal for an escape attempt, or similar. When the A-bomb hit Nagasaki, the brick church just a few miles away was undamaged.
Online is the report of Bishop Ito in 1984 re: the weeping statue of the Virgin Mary in a convent in the Nagasaki suburb of Akita. Agnes Sasegawa, a Buddhist-turned-Catholic nun made deaf by a deathly illness, began to hear messages in 1973 telepathically from the 17-in. wooden statue on the chapel's altar, which wept human tears daily, even when isolated in a lucite box, etc. "Your deafness pains you, doesn't it?," the voice asked the nun. "You will suffer for eight years, then I shall cure you," the voice said. Sister reported 8 years of (dire) messages in weekly confession. One day in 1981 the tears and messages stopped, and the nun's hearing was restored.
13
Fr Maxamillian Kolbe was a (Conventual OfmConv) Franciscan Priest who was Born In Poland. He established a community of Franciscan Priests and Brothers whose spirituality focused on Christ through devotion to His Blessed Mother. The Fraiary housed a printing plant which produced religious literature, an apostolate they brought to Japan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe
I cite a non-religious source reporting on the life of St Maximilian Kolbe in order to underscore the broad acceptance of the basic facts in this extraordinary life.
Father Dan Cahil, OFM Conv was A Franciscan with authority over the Conventual Franciscans in China and Japan at the time Maximillian was returned to Poland because of his frail health and not due to the intervention of the Japanese. I was privileged to have known Father Dan, but not Maximillian. Each of these men faced unimaginable evil and gave witness to the confrontation of evil and faith.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe
I cite a non-religious source reporting on the life of St Maximilian Kolbe in order to underscore the broad acceptance of the basic facts in this extraordinary life.
Father Dan Cahil, OFM Conv was A Franciscan with authority over the Conventual Franciscans in China and Japan at the time Maximillian was returned to Poland because of his frail health and not due to the intervention of the Japanese. I was privileged to have known Father Dan, but not Maximillian. Each of these men faced unimaginable evil and gave witness to the confrontation of evil and faith.
5
I know and revere the Japanese martyrs, as well as Father Kolbe's act of sacrifice for a fellow human being. they deserved canonization.
However the story of the brick church surviving the A-bomb leaves me cold. Most Japanese cities were made of wood. It's not surprising that a brick building would survive. My aunt was in Japan right after the surrender and took many pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki showing stone or brick buildings sticking out of the rubble. As for the deaf nun, her experience could be psychosomatic. Did anyone else hear the altar?
The Catholic Church should forget talking altars, along with statues weeping blood, etc., and allow women to be priests.
However the story of the brick church surviving the A-bomb leaves me cold. Most Japanese cities were made of wood. It's not surprising that a brick building would survive. My aunt was in Japan right after the surrender and took many pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki showing stone or brick buildings sticking out of the rubble. As for the deaf nun, her experience could be psychosomatic. Did anyone else hear the altar?
The Catholic Church should forget talking altars, along with statues weeping blood, etc., and allow women to be priests.
3
You can take the artist out of Carmine Street, but you can't take Carmine Street out of the artist. And thank goodness for it.
14
A splendid piece of writing. Thank you, Mr. Elie, for doing such an amazing job.
69
"The Last Temptation of Christ" is one of Scorsese's best films. Watch it again, listen to the music created by Peter Gabriel, and note the traditional 1950s Catholic imagery throughout.
When I saw it in the theater back in the day I had to cross a picket line of traditional habit-wearing nuns. The image still stays with me of those nuns marching and chanting, holding signs. The movie images have stuck too. Like William Dafoe's Jesus drawing a perfect circle in the sand while being tempted for 40 days. Or when he turns the tables in the temple. Or when he first visits Mary, very well acted by Barbara Hershey. The image of him praying before he was crucified looks like a 1950's Bible illustration. Very well-made film, steeped in powerful scenes, images...especially for those raised Catholic.
I look forward to "Silence."
When I saw it in the theater back in the day I had to cross a picket line of traditional habit-wearing nuns. The image still stays with me of those nuns marching and chanting, holding signs. The movie images have stuck too. Like William Dafoe's Jesus drawing a perfect circle in the sand while being tempted for 40 days. Or when he turns the tables in the temple. Or when he first visits Mary, very well acted by Barbara Hershey. The image of him praying before he was crucified looks like a 1950's Bible illustration. Very well-made film, steeped in powerful scenes, images...especially for those raised Catholic.
I look forward to "Silence."
25
What I remember from the "Last Temptation" turmoil is that most -- if not all -- of those who protested the movie had not even seen it.
If they had, they might have understood that although the film depicts Christ as being taunted by temptation (and playing out the temptation in his mind), he renounces that imagined life and accepts his fate. If that isn't an affirmation of faith, I don't know what is.
If they had, they might have understood that although the film depicts Christ as being taunted by temptation (and playing out the temptation in his mind), he renounces that imagined life and accepts his fate. If that isn't an affirmation of faith, I don't know what is.
5
Paul - thank you for the presenting the 'life' of Silence in such an awe-inspiring manner.....
And. thanks, Marty, for the exceedingly complex labor of Love...Or 'love' , however one wishes to absorb the essence.
And. thanks, Marty, for the exceedingly complex labor of Love...Or 'love' , however one wishes to absorb the essence.
16
The question at the heart of this film is not so much "Are you a Christian?" but rather: "Who is a Christian?" Is it the priest who suffers martyrdom? Is it the priest who sacrifices himself for others? Is it the Japanese Christian who doggedly clings to faith in the face of state-sponsored violence? Is it the one who stumbles repeatedly when trying to believe? Who among these individuals who battle with the demands of belief and its contradictions should call themselves a Christian--or be called that name by others.
20
As soon as one calls him/herself "Christian", one becomes a hypocrite. It is impossible for fallen human nature to meet the ideal. Each Christian
is measured by effort, based on grace. Grace begets love in its genuine form. self-sacrifice.
is measured by effort, based on grace. Grace begets love in its genuine form. self-sacrifice.
1
Had a similar thought. I agree with the changed question.
2
Faith has nothing to do with belief or disbelief. As admirable as Martin Scorsese's work may be, ultimately It completely misses the point.
1
Simone Weil said, "Until God has taken possession of him, no human being can have faith, but only simple belief; and it hardly matters whether or not he has such a belief, because he will arrive at faith equally well through disbelief."
1
Once again - His work is being judged without being seen. Before it is even released.
2
The poet mentioned here is Gerard Manley Hopkins, not Gerald.
31
The error is corrected in the notes at the end of the article.
Hollywood will pass on any book or script that is about a priest. Only Scorsese could make one. Their specious logic is that nobody wants to see a movie about a priest. They suffer from tunnel vision, stereotyping, and from being in their own plastic bubble. There is an hilarious novel about a NYC Jesuit priest who is having a mid life crisis. His brother tells him to quit, and open a car wash in Jersey. He gets sent to Texas. And battles an ex marine, atheist deprogramer for the mind and soul of a hippie jesus freak. Most of it takes place at a rundown no-tell motel, whose owners want to sell it so they can be rich enough to fart through silk. As a result of battling the deprogramer, the priest gets his belief in his vocation, learns spanish, and moves to help the poor in Austin. Every time I pushed this project, I got a big no. But one his to keep the faith.
8
I grew up Irish during the fifties and sixties outside of Boston, one of four brothers. My father, a Southie thug, was sent away to be educated in a seminary in lieu of reform school. Fighting and The Church were the two things we believed in. For me "Mean Streets" got it right, the part about coming to terms with violence without (completely) losing the Holy Spirit. Can't wait to see "Silence."
11
I used to walk by the Cemetery in Little Italy where Keitel and DeNiro, lay out white handkerchiefs before they sit on the gravestones, and I would think, not of the dead, nor of God, but of Mean Streets.
It's the power of Scorsese's art which enlightens me, not his faith, but I respect both, one from inside, and one from out.
Religion, like art, dissolves the line between the flesh and the spirit. Preach on, Father Marty, in your chosen way; we'll always fill the pews.
It's the power of Scorsese's art which enlightens me, not his faith, but I respect both, one from inside, and one from out.
Religion, like art, dissolves the line between the flesh and the spirit. Preach on, Father Marty, in your chosen way; we'll always fill the pews.
34
As an artist and casual moviegoer of Jewish birth who has taken Buddhist practice to heart, I have struggled, albeit not mightily, with matters of faith and art. This superbly written article rekindled a hash of intellectual, artistic and emotional ideas Scorcese's films have burned in me.
I cannot wait to see "Silence", more, I think, for what it reveals as Scorcese's life as an intensely faithful yet questioning artist than its value as an engaging story of faith in a faithless time and place.
Thank you Mr. Elie for opening the door into a dimly-lit room in which the mind and heart of a seminal artist is revealed once one's vision is adjusted for the dark.
I cannot wait to see "Silence", more, I think, for what it reveals as Scorcese's life as an intensely faithful yet questioning artist than its value as an engaging story of faith in a faithless time and place.
Thank you Mr. Elie for opening the door into a dimly-lit room in which the mind and heart of a seminal artist is revealed once one's vision is adjusted for the dark.
21
Thank you, Mr. Elie and the NY Times, for this sensitive and incisive profile of a great artist. Like many of his characters, Scorsese seems to be on a lifelong search for goodness and transcendence in a world battered by greed, cruelty and pain. And in each of his films, he conveys the messy humanity and poignancy of that search. Cent'anni, Mr. Scorsese.
32
Nothing truly profound is simplistic.
Our faith is profound.
Martin Scorcese is a profound thinker.
Welcome, "Silence".
Our faith is profound.
Martin Scorcese is a profound thinker.
Welcome, "Silence".
6
We, I and those who are 24/7 activists, have been involved in pursuing human rights as one of the few languages of soul and spirituality that people ( and their politicians and employers ) still are most open to. It is that " the medium is the message " and we so much count on people like Wajda and Scorsese to do all they have done so well to show us all that like is a journey and not a destination. The language we use, the medium we use matters for all should be used as our tool to understand that life is but a challenge to learn to live as we were intended to do. I thank Marty for never loosing site of the passions that we all have within us - each person through the divine energy sources that make what we call " human " from conception to death to the next further path we will follow.
My brother was a media guru who now experiments with me in communicating from somewhere else where he is now that he had what we call ' died '. It is amazing to say the least that each of us only sees what we want to see, either already or through the assistance of such as Marty.
Marty thank-you again and I thank-you also on behalf of Andresz Wajda in case you do not ' hear ' from him too often lately.
My brother was a media guru who now experiments with me in communicating from somewhere else where he is now that he had what we call ' died '. It is amazing to say the least that each of us only sees what we want to see, either already or through the assistance of such as Marty.
Marty thank-you again and I thank-you also on behalf of Andresz Wajda in case you do not ' hear ' from him too often lately.
2
The sacred, the profane are very close.
2
There's an unexplained subtlety to the book's "Garrpe" becoming the film's "Garrupe". Pedro Arrupe, S.J., (1907-1991) was Jesuit Superior General, a Spaniard/Basque who served for many years on the Jesuit mission in Japan, including serving near Hiroshima in August 1945. Later, as Jesuit Superior General (1965-1983) oversaw the Jesuits' deepening their cross-cultural mission as "the service of faith and the promotion of justice".
12
I'm more interested in what Kazantzakis says in "Last Temptation of Christ"
than I am in the theologians. But what I'd hoped for in this fine article
is some mention of another great movie inspired by Kazantzakis entitled
"The Greek Passion." In it an annual passion play in a wealthy Greek
Village during the Turkish occupation becomes real. By Jules Dassin after
his voluntary exile from America - and with Melina Mercouri his wife playing
Mary Magdalene - it's been scoured almost into non-existence by the same
religious fundamentalism that affects Sorceses's movie, main difference
being that it was made in the late '50's. A few years ago it appeared
briefly on Netflix but was swiftly removed. Why I've been determined
to find out, but so far without results. But I have my suspicions.
than I am in the theologians. But what I'd hoped for in this fine article
is some mention of another great movie inspired by Kazantzakis entitled
"The Greek Passion." In it an annual passion play in a wealthy Greek
Village during the Turkish occupation becomes real. By Jules Dassin after
his voluntary exile from America - and with Melina Mercouri his wife playing
Mary Magdalene - it's been scoured almost into non-existence by the same
religious fundamentalism that affects Sorceses's movie, main difference
being that it was made in the late '50's. A few years ago it appeared
briefly on Netflix but was swiftly removed. Why I've been determined
to find out, but so far without results. But I have my suspicions.
4
Unfortunately, many religious people use religion "like a Bayer aspirin" (a famous line during the Sixties). Pope Francis is trying to move people to another place.
3
Garfield is the most impressive young actor in recent years. In 99 Homes, he looks just like the working man getting coffee at the 7-11. In Hacksaw Ridge, he captures the persona of an Appalachian evangelical. He was an inspired choice for this film.
6
As he made “The Aviator” and “The Departed,” “Shutter Island” and “Hugo,” he insisted that “Silence” was the picture he really wanted to make.
That single line from his article explains so, so much!
That single line from his article explains so, so much!
4
Paul: Great profile. But "Bridge on the River Kwai" - not over.
1
Corrected at end of article.
I have thought for years that Scorsese should make a movie based on Jorge Amado's The Pen, the Sword and the Camisole, a delightful novel that lends itself to considerations of human follies, political intrigue and sophisticated comedy.
He may want to deal with a less demanding theme, after The Silence.
He may want to deal with a less demanding theme, after The Silence.
7
There are very few great religious movies and fewer still that actually revolve around religious figures (Bresson's "Journal of a Country Priest" and Bergman's "Winter Light" come to mind). I didn't think that Scorsese quite worked it out for "Last Temptation of Christ" though it was certainly a worthy attempt. Even so, if there's any filmmaker working today with the depth of conviction and the artistic vision to pull off such a feat, Marty is clearly the one. While others are getting excited over the prospects of "La La Land" or "Fences" or (for a different sort of audience) "Star Wars: Rogue One," there is, for me, no more potentially exciting movie to anticipate this season than "Silence." Please, Marty: don't disappoint me!
74
"Joan of Arc," by Carl-Theodor Dreyer.
2
The words "Marty" and "disappoint" cannot be used in the same sentence. In his seventies and still working and learning with the passion of an 8-year-old altar boy. People who don't appreciate what Scorsese is giving us are still lost in some nostalgic past waiting for Joe Pesci to show up. These are the Old Masters now, I guess: Scorsese, Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas, Gilliam, Bogdanovich .... The ones who can still kinda sorta reach Back To The Day and are still playing with the new toys. The ones who are still teaching me. Keep shooting! Keep learning!
7
"The Last Temptation of Christ" is a film I took a group of subcontractors to see in Washington during its early days--we were working there, and saw it was playing and had not yet reached full release in NC. I had read Kazantzakis and knew this was a powerful work. Scorsese made me better appreciate that Christ was not the plastic Jesus so beloved in the South; he was suddenly alive and real. I later told friends it was, indeed, worth braving theater lines where patrons were booed and harassed, to see this magnificent film. The tension around it only made me further appreciate what heroic effort this work represented--and how one dimensional most depictions of Christ have been. This film was brave, fine, and one that still haunts me. Scorsese remains one of the people I would most love to invite to that hypothetical perfect dinner party.
14