Page 64 - Sonoma County Gazatte May 2017

Silence
May 5 ~ First Friday Film Series: The Bridge on the River Kwai 7p Free for members/$5 for public, Charles Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Ln., SR, 707- 579-4452, schulzmuseum.org/learn/ calendar-of-events/
May 5 & 7~ Sonoma Film Institute – May 5: Primary and Adventures on the New Frontier - Filming John F. Kennedy on the campaign trail & Oval Office. 7p. May 7: Crisis and Faces of November 4p. Warren Auditorium, Ives Hall, Sonoma State University, 1801 E Cotati Ave. Rohnert Park. Ticket: $5. Parking: $5, 707-664-2606, sonoma.edu/sfi/
May 6 ~ Film Fest Petaluma - 40 short films from countries across the world. 12p, 3p, p. 7:30p & 10:30p, $10-$15/All day passes. Mystic Theatre, 23 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma, petalumafilmalliance. org, 707-778-3687, Mike Traina, mike@ petalumafilmalliance.org
May 10 ~ A Will for the Woods - Final Passages - Film & Discussion -Let’s Talk About Death. $10, 6:30- 9p, Sebastopol Grange Hall, 6000 Hwy. 12, Sebastopol, 707-824-0268, Jerrigrace Lyons, finalpassages.org/film-may/, info@ finalpassages.org
May 13 ~ Movie on the Green Film Series - La La Land - Musical of Mia, aspiring actress, and Sebastian, musician, struggling. Bring blankets, Free 7p, Green Music Center -Weill Hall and Lawn, Sonoma State University, 1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, 186-695-5604, gmc.sonoma.edu/event/3557093-movie- on-the-green-film-series
May 19 ~ Now - West County Film Society - Whistleblower who tries to reconnect with his estranged son. Donations, 6:30-7:30p, Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, occidentalcenterforthearts.org/west- county-film-society-presents-now/
May 22 ~ Marcus Cano Documentary on Homelessness - “A Place To Call Home” Stories of the homeless also presents an innovative solution to transitional housing. Ken Berman & Healdsburg High School art class project designed mobile shelters that can be attached to bicycles & provide sleeping & secure storage. www.kenbermanart.com. Free, 7p. Paul Mahder Gallery, 222 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, 707-433-6161, Colleen Carmichael
Fr. Rodrigues prays in desperate anguish but no answers are forthcoming. All he
receives is –silence. Because we live in a more secular era, there are fewer faith-based films being made in the manner of Cecil B.De Milles’s Ten Commandments. However, Mel
By Date
Apr 27 ~ Are We Crazy About Our Kids - Russian River Cradle to Career Collaborative screening & panel discussion on childhood education. 6:30-7p Reception/Networking 7-7:30 Film 7:30-8:15 Panel Discussion 8:30 Free, 20396 Bohemian Hwy., Monte Rio, eventbrite.com/e/russian-river-are-we- crazy-about-our-kids-documentary- short-film-and-panel-discussion- tickets-27102366909?aff=es2, jrich.ehs@ wscuhsd.k12.ca.us
Apr 28 & 30 ~ Starless Dreams - Sonoma Film Institute - filmed in a rehabilitation center for juvenile delinquent women in Iran. Fri, Apr 28, 7p & Sun., Apr 30 at $5 donation, $5 fee for parking, Warren Auditorium - Sonoma State University Ives Hall, 1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, 707-664-2606, Eleanor Nichols, sonoma.edu/sfi/schedule/, nicholse@ sonoma.edu
Apr 30 ~ Island Earth - Tale of a young indigenous scientist’s struggle for truth between science and tradition as he enters an industry that many feel is threatening his homeland. Free, 6:30p Guayaki Cafe, 6782 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol, islandearthfilm.com/ screenings/
May 2 ~ Crazy Wise - Traditional wisdom of indigenous cultures often contradicts modern views about a mental health crisis. Donations, 7:30p Songbird Community Healing Center, 8297 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati, 707-762-4848, hopedance.org/events/ eventdetail/1255/-/crazywise-film- conversation-at-songbird-healing- center, info@hopedance.org
May 3,10 & 13 - Petaluma Film Alliance - Screening at 7p, Post-film discussion 10p, May 3: Green is Gold, May 10: The Truman Show, May 17: Deadpool Price: $5 - $6 Carole L. Ellis Auditorium Petaluma JC Campus, 680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma, petalumafilmalliance.org/
Gibson and Martin Scorsese both Catholic- ish are the exceptions. Scorsese’s latest, Silence,
is conceived on a grand scale, superbly acted, beautifully photographed and permeated with
Catholic guilt. Seminary dropout and five times wed Scorsese has said, “I‘m a lapsed Catholic, but I am still a Roman Catholic.”.
It is 17th century Japan and Christianity has been outlawed by edict. Back home in Portugal two very idealistic
young Jesuits, Fr. Rodrigues, Andrew
Garfield, and Fr. Garupe, Adam
Brody, are concerned about their mentor, Fr. Ferriera, Liam Neeson. There have been rumors that he has lost his faith and is living amongst the oppressors. Eager to dispel the validity of this sacrilege the pair beg their superior to allow them
to travel to Japan in an attempt to
locate their beloved teacher. Sailing
into Macao they engage their guide
and soon arrive secretly in Japan
where they are met by a clandestine
cache of Christians . Circumstances
are miserable. They are wet, cold
and hungry. They perform their
ministrations in the dark of night. Their flock is eventually discovered and told if they did not reject Christ they would put to death. The two priests survive but separate. We follow the path of Fr. Rodrigues. Soon he is sold out by his guide for 300 pieces of silver. Fr. Rodrigues notes that the sum is 100 times more than Judas was paid to deny Christ. Obviously he sees himself
as a Christ figure. As a captive he finally connects with Fr. Ferriera who has adopted the Japanese lifestyle , has married and has children. Fr. Ferriera explains his position. Although difficult to understand I think this is what he said: The Japanese view of Christianity is like nothing that they studied back home in Lisbon. Culturally these people seem incapable or ill-equipped to really convert in the true sense of the word so what is the point in trying? Fr. Rodrigues is advised to apostasize not so much to save his own life but to save the lives of the faithful who will follow his example.
Andrew Garfield proves his has a range beyond Spiderman. Most of the time in Scorsese films there is a high body count. The manner here is just more grotesque. Christians are tied in bamboo mats and tossed into the sea. Others are crucified at low tide and wait as the tide comes in. The most excruciating torment was to be encased in a cocoon and hung upside down over a pit. A small cut was incised in the back of the ear. It could take days for a person to bleed out. Based on a novel, the script was co-written by Scorsese. Silence is
a story of God and men, of myth and faith, of doubt and belief of the sublime and the diabolical , of sound and silence. It has power.
64 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/17