Film on 17th-century Macau | Jesuits praised for historic realism

Martin Scorsese’s latest project, a historical period drama titled “Silence”, has been praised for its accurate depiction of Jesuit activities in Macau and East Asia, as well as for its closeness to the original novel that served as the inspiration behind the film.

Released internationally in December last year, the film features scenes of a recreated ‘old Macau’, which served as an important center for Jesuit activities in the Asia-Pacific region during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The film’s plot recounts the fictional story of Jesuit missionaries trying to find their missing colleague in Japan. Leaving their base in Macau, two Portuguese priests enlist the help of an exiled Japanese man to venture into the hostile country, which at that time had embraced state-sponsored persecution of Christians.

In one of the opening scenes, three Jesuit priests are seen exiting a whitened, and presumably intact, version of the present-day Ruins of St. Paul’s. However, only its front-facing façade is shown in the film.

The background to the scene is a tranquil hilltop view of Portuguese Macau, adorned with colonial-style buildings and what appear to be wooden ships in the harbor. The hills of nearby China (today Zhuhai) can be seen across the narrow stretch of water.

The detailed recreation of old Macau prompted the Times to ask local authorities whether government departments such as the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) or the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) had collaborated with researchers for the film.

MGTO has previously been involved in projects to bring filmmakers to Macau, for example the International Film Festival and Awards that debuted in Macau debuted last year, as part of its plan to generate more international awareness of the MSAR through film productions and promote tourism in the process.

A representative of the IC told the Times that the bureau had no involvement in the film in terms of providing assistance to researchers. The Times did not receive a reply from MGTO by press time.

Meanwhile, Macau-based filmmakers suggested to the Times that the production team behind the film, which was shot entirely in Taiwan, had not visited Macau and instead produced the set from historical archives.

According to Catholic media website, Crux, Jesuit priest James Martin had worked closely with the filmmakers as a consultant to ensure an accurate portrayal of the members of the Society of Jesus.

Professor Hugo Gonçalves Dores, who presented a seminar at the University of Saint Joseph last week detailing his research on Portuguese missionary work in Africa during the 19th and 20th centuries, said that the film was well-received by academics in his field, who regard it as an accurate portrayal of the period.

“I am not a specialist [in missionary work in Asia] but my colleagues who are specialists said the film was very realistic – true to the book and to the reality,” he said.

The film was adapted from a 1996 historical fiction novel by Japanese author Shūsaku Endō, which explores the theme of a silent God accompanying a believer who must face trials of faith.

“The experience [of missionaries] in Africa and Asia was quite different,” he said, “but they were a part of the same imperial structure.”

While the importance of Macau as a missionary base in the region diminished quite rapidly following the entry of other colonial powers to East Asia – namely the Dutch, the French and the British – the role of the enclave during the 16th and 17th centuries earned Macau the title of the “Mother of Missions in Asia”.

This title, which was bestowed on the territory centuries later by contemporary academics, was the result of Macau serving as a node for missionary work in the region.

Leonor Diaz de Seabra, an associate professor of history at the University of Macau, told the Times that during the 16th and 17th centuries, “all the [European] missionaries came to Macau first and then spread to East Asia and Southeast Asia.”

“Macau was very important to the Jesuits at this time and the Jesuits were also important to Macau, particularly in administrative affairs,” said Seabra. “They [operated] the first university, St. Paul’s College, where they taught not only religious matters but also scientific matters.”

Scorsese’s “Silence” was reviewed favorably by film critics and audiences. IMDb has aggregated a score of 7.4 out of 10 based on 38,743 votes, while Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 7.6 out of 10, with audience reviewers on the site (non-professionals) awarding it 3.7 out of 5.

Scorsese has visited Macau previously. In October 2015, he attended the opening of Melco’s (then Melco Crown’s) Studio City resort in Cotai, where a short film featuring the director, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt was premiered.

Missionaries thought it ‘a noble thing to spread their faith’

Professor Hugo Gonçalves Dores, a scholar who is researching the Portuguese colonial experience in sub-Saharan Africa, presented a seminar last week at the University of Saint Joseph (USJ).

Titled “Historiographical limits and the challenges of studying Christian missions in imperial times,” the public lecture shed light on the various forces that affected missionary work on the continent during the 19th and 20th centuries, including religious doctrine, imperialism, internationalism and intra-religious factionalism.

One idea that Professor Dores said he grappled with in his research was the idea of “Christian missionaries being collaborators of the imperial regimes.”

“I tend not to be so careful [favorable] about the concept of ‘the Empire’ as many are in Portugal,” he said, explaining that the imperial experience has traditionally been a source of national pride for the Portuguese.

“My job as a historian is to look at specific realities in specific contexts. At the time [of the missionaries], they thought they were not being racist or judgmental. They were just Christians who thought they were doing a noble thing to spread their faith.”