Silence Page #7

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“On that day, the faithful received

fresh hope. I was renewed.”

As the priest celebrates the Mass, consecrating the host, the

faces of the villagers -- even of Kichijiro -- reflect the

power of this open demonstration of faith.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“Their lives here are so hard. They

live like beasts and die like beasts.”

Outside, villagers bringing the sick, infirm, children and

babies to the priests form a broken line going back into the

hills.

TIME CUT:
Now Rodrigues distributes Holy Communion. He realizes

he does not have hosts for the whole congregation and decides

to break small particles from his own host to distribute. The

Villagers receive it with deep humility. Some even weep

quietly.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“But Christ did not die for the good

and beautiful. That is easy enough.

The hard thing is to die for the

miserable and corrupt. But here I knew

I was one of them, and I shared the

hunger of their spirit.”

34

TIME CUT:
Villagers continue to make their way to the farmhouse

-the sick are carried. Rodrigues passes among the faithful

with SMALL WOODEN CRUCIFIXES MADE FROM WOOD SPLINTERS;

VERONICAS, small pendants with the image of Jesus; and OTHER

DEVOTIONAL OBJECTS made of paper. Rodrigues takes his rosary,

and unfastening the beads gives one to each until they are

gone. The Villagers REACH OUT FOR them eagerly - everyone, that

is, but Kichijiro, who shrinks back.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“They are desperate for tangible signs

of faith, so I provided what I could.

I worry they value these poor signs of

faith more than faith itself, but how

could we deny them?”

TIME CUT:
Rodrigues distributes the last of the devotional

objects. But the villagers seem to expect more. They don’t want

to disperse.

GOTO SICK MAN:

Padre. Listen to me. Konhisan.

TIME CUT:
Rodrigues looks out.

RODRIGUES:

Now...will you say with me...the words

of this prayer.

He bows his head. The congregation follows.

RODRIGUES:

(in rough but determined

Japanese)

“Ten ni mashimasu warera ga on’oya,

mina o tattomaretamae, miyo

kitaritamae...”

The congregation joins him in saying the prayer.

41 EXT. GOTO CRUMBLING FARMHOUSE DAY 41

TIME CUT:
After the prayer, Rodrigues walks among the faithful.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“And they came to me. I felt God

Himself was so near.”

He STOPS and speaks with an OLD GOTO MAN.

35

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“One prayer was answered on Goto. It

was there I learned the first real

news of someone who might be Father

Ferreira.”

RODRIGUES:

You’ve seen him then. A stern man?

GOTO MAN:

(shakes his head)

Oh no. Kind. So they say. It’s said he

made a place for infants and the sick

at Shinmachi. But who can know for

sure? That was before the trouble.

RODRIGUES:

Where is that?

GOTO MAN:

Near Nagasaki. But so dangerous to go.

The Old Goto Man slips back into the crowd. Rodrigues’ face

shows a strange mixture of concern and excitement.

CUT TO:

42 EXT. GOTO CLEARING IN THE WOODS DAY 42

CAMERA TRACKS through dense, quiet woods.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“In Goto I baptized over a hundred

adults and children, heard confessions

without number, gave instruction and

celebrated Mass. But it was from

Kichijiro that I felt the greatest

need.”

CAMERA NOW DISCOVERS: Kichijiro on his knees before Rodrigues

in a clearing like a small Gethsemane.

KICHIJIRO:

I was Kirishitan. I am Kirishitan.

RODRIGUES:

You did not take the crucifix.

KICHIJIRO:

I did not deserve it.

36

RODRIGUES:

Because you denied God?

KICHIJIRO:

Yes, but only to live. Peter denied

Him three times, and still Peter loved

God. My whole family. They...we were

betrayed by an informer. The

Inquisitor Inoue wanted us to give up

our faith. Stamp on Jesus with our

foot. Just once, just fast. But they

would not.

CUT TO:

43 EXT. GOTO STREET DAY 43

Close up of the fumie. A foot hovers over it, WAVERING. It is a

board to which an iconic religious image has been attached--in

this case an image on metal of Christ.

KICHIJIRO (V.O.)

But I did.

Kichijiro's foot COMES DOWN on the fumie as his family watches.

CUT TO:

44 EXT. GOTO CLEARING IN THE WOODS GOTO DAY 44

Kichijiro becomes increasingly distraught as he speaks.

KICHIJIRO:

My brothers and sisters...our

parents...were all put in prison. I

was released. But I could not abandon

them, even if I had abandoned God.

CUT TO:

45 EXT. GOTO BEACH EXECUTION SITE DAY 45

Filled with samurai, guards, officials and the curious: a large

crowd has gathered to watch a familiar ritual.

KICHIJIRO (V.O.)

So I watched them die.

37

In the center of the surrounding crowd, Kichijiro's whole

family--his mother and father, two brothers and two sisters-have

been prepared for execution: his sister is bound to a

stake, another is tied to a stake, four are bundled in straw

sacks and piled on top of each other. They are lit on fire.

SMOKE fills the sky and FLAMES CONSUME the bodies of the

prisoners, who SCREAM AND CRY to the heavens for mercy.

One of Kichijiro's sisters has long hair, hanging loose. As the

flames devour her body, they seem to rush up the hair, quickly

surrounding her head with what looks, for a brief, horrible

moment, like a CROWN OF FIRE.

In the crowd, Kichijiro, covered with filth and looking like a

wild dog, TURNS AWAY from this horror and tries to run. But his

legs won't support him. He FALLS to the ground.

KICHIJIRO (V.O.)

Whatever I do, wherever I go, I see

the fire and smell the flesh. The one

thing more terrible to me than their

dying is my shame.

CUT TO:

46 EXT. GOTO CLEARING IN THE WOODS DAY 46

Kichijiro is close to tears.

KICHIJIRO:

After I saw you and Padre Garupe for

the first time...I thought...I started

to believe...that God might take me

back. Because in...in my dreams, the

fire was no longer so bright.

Rodrigues looks at him very closely: he wants to believe this

testament, but he is still skeptical.

RODRIGUES:

Jesus said, "Every one therefore that

shall confess me before men, I will

also confess him before my Father who

is in heaven. But he that shall deny

me before men, I will also deny him

before my Father who is in heaven."

Kichijiro, chastened, lowers his head.

38

RODRIGUES:

(beat; then relenting)

Do you want me to hear your confession

now?

KICHIJIRO:

(in tears)

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.

CUT TO:

47 EXT. BOAT ON THE WATER NIGHT 47

The Boatman is taking Rodrigues and Kichijiro back to Tomogi.

Kichijiro sprawls against the side of the boat.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“Confession may have been good for

Kichijiro’s soul, but I admit, Father,

it did not do much for his thirst.”

Kichijiro salutes Rodrigues with a bottle of rice wine

(doburoku) as he takes a long gulp.

RODRIGUES (V.O.)

“But still those six days at Goto, and

Kichijiro’s renewal of faith, made me

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