Silence Page #10

...Mokichi, on the cross. The tide is not quite so high now: it

hits him chest level. But his body hangs limp and lifeless from

the cross. The pull of the tide has already torn him from the

ropes that bind him. His body DANGLES loose.

Another wave buffets Mokichi's body and finally BREAKS IT LOOSE

from the cross. His body is TOSSED in the water.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“It took Mokichi four days to die. At

the end he sang a hymn, so they say.

His voice was the only sound.

(MORE)

49

RODRIGUES (V.O.) (cont'd)

The people of the village who were

gathered on the beach were always

silent.”

56A EXT. TOMOGI BEACH NIGHT 56A

Guards GRAB Mokichi’s body by his arms and carry him up the

beach, under the watchful supervision of the samurai.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“The people were watched closely, so

the bodies could not be given a

Christian burial.”

CUT TO:

57 EXT. TOMOGI BEACH NIGHT 57

Instructed by the samurai, Guards FLING Mokichi's body onto a

pyre made of driftwood.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“Mokichi’s body was so heavy with

water it turned the flames to smoke

before it finally caught fire. Any

bones that remained were scattered in

the ocean, so they could not be

venerated.”

Through the smoking, leaping flames WE SEE: the three crosses,

still planted firm in the moonlit sand.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“I had long read about martyrdom in

The Lives of the Saints, but this was

no such glorious thing. Surely God

heard their prayers as they died. But

did He hear their screams? I prayed

that He might reach out to them, but

how can I explain His silence to these

people who have endured so much? I

need all my strength to understand it

myself. Humanity is so sad, Lord, and

the ocean so blue.”

From their hiding place, Rodrigues and Garupe pray silently as

the three empty crosses are washed with sea water.

CUT TO:

50

58 EXT. TOMOGI BEACH NIGHT 58

Rodrigues and Garupe, accompanied by several anxious villagers,

HURRY toward two waiting fishing boats.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“This may be my last report to you,

Father. Today we hear the guards are

in the mountains looking for us. So we

have decided it will be safer to

separate. Father Garupe will make for

Hirado, to continue the mission, and I

will return to Goto to try to learn

more about Shinmachi. The last place

Father Ferreira lived, and the place I

may still find him. Please believe,

Father, that if these are my last

words to you I ask forgiveness for my

weakness and my doubt, and I beg God

for the strength to stand against

whatever suffering befalls me if Inoue

finds me. And I ask you to remember

Father Garupe and me in your Masses

and in your prayers. With my life and

whole heart, I praise God. Remember us

in your holy sacrifices, your obedient

son...”

They have to tear their glance away from the crosses, which

stand like giant driftwood in the drift of the sea.

GARUPE:

Kichijiro was right. If we’d left they

might still be alive.

RODRIGUES:

We don’t know that. And we can’t

doubt. That will be our death.

GARUPE:

Are we giving up? Is that what we’re

doing? Are we running away?

RODRIGUES:

It’s more of a test than we thought.

GARUPE:

After people have died for us. I feel

like a coward.

51

RODRIGUES:

No. Our purpose is the same. We can’t

fulfill it if we’re captured.

God will give us strength.

Garupe REACHES inside his clothes and removes his rosary. He

offers it to Rodrigues.

GARUPE:

Take this. Remember me.

RODRIGUES:

Thank you, brother. But I have this.

Rodrigues shows him the carved cross that Mokichi gave him.

RODRIGUES:

From one of our blessed martyrs

already in heaven.

(Garupe looks doubtful)

Because of us, Francisco. Because of

us.

Rodrigues sounds as if he’s trying to convince himself of this

as well as give Garupe strength. Garupe HOLDS HIS ARMS OUT to

Rodrigues and HUGS him quickly.

GARUPE:

My prayers go with you.

RODRIGUES:

And my love with you.

GARUPE:

I pray to be as strong as you.

The priests WADE into the water toward their waiting fishing

boats. But Rodrigues TURNS QUICKLY...

RODRIGUES:

Stay alive! Promise me. Promise!

GARUPE:

I promise.

The priests hoist themselves into the waiting boats which move

quickly away from the beach. They are soon lost to each other

under the cover of the dense starless night.

CUT TO:

52

59 EXT. BOAT/SEA NIGHT 59

An oar, CHURNING up the inky sea.

A small boat breasts the waves, cutting through the pitch

night. Rodrigues is its only passenger, a single BOATMAN the

sole crew. He will not look Rodrigues in the eye. Rodrigues

hugs himself for warmth.

RODRIGUES:

Is there any water?

(no reply)

Water? I'm very thirsty.

The boatman does not reply. Perhaps he does not understand.

NOTE:
NOW WHEN WE HEAR RODRIGUES V.O., his voice is different:

like a whisper, like a man telling secrets to himself. The

words are like a fervent prayer, part penitence, part

reflection and part stream-of-consciousness struggle.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“Father in Heaven, praised be Thy

name. I’m just a foreigner who brought

disaster. That’s the way they think of

me now. But if I’d been an ordinary

Christian, and not a priest, wouldn’t

I have also disgraced our Lord and run

like Kichijiro?

He trails his fingers in the sea and sucks the drops of salt

water from his fingers.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“I imagine Your Son, nailed to the

cross, and my mouth tastes like

vinegar.”

CUT TO:

60 EXT. GOTO BEACH AND SEA DAWN 60

The shore, seen from the boat: the sun has not yet burnt away

the morning mist. The land looks shrouded, unwelcoming.

RODRIGUES (O.S.)

Is that Goto?

The boatman TURNS the boat so Rodrigues can disembark. He PUTS

HIS HAND OUT TO HELP Rodrigues, who, to the Boatman’s surprise,

shakes it, then uses it to steady himself as he stands in the

boat rocking in the waves...

53

...and STEPS over the side. The boatman QUICKLY ROWS away as

Rodrigues splashes toward shore like a thief in the night.

CUT TO:

61 EXT. GOTO STREET DAY 61

Deserted. Huts in disrepair. Broken plates and cups and bits of

furniture strewn in the dust. Doors broken. The only sound is

the wind.

He smirks at the absurdity...then stops quickly, spinning at

the sound of the MEWING of a cat.

The cat strides by itself. The cat goes past Rodrigues’ legs.

Then more cats. And more. Until they are a silent phalanx

parading silently, indifferently, past the staring priest.

CUT TO:

62 INT. GOTO VILLAGE HUT DAY 62

Rodrigues SCAVENGES for scraps of food. He DRINKS a bowl of

water greedily, SPLASHES what remains on his face, then goes to

the doorway. There is nothing outside but desolation.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“I sleep standing, like a camel. I

dream of mountains, and flight, and

Our Saint Francis. What happened to

all the glorious possibility he found

here?”

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