Silence (2016)

In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Jay Cocks (screenplay by), Martin Scorsese (screenplay by)

Stars:

Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 55 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew Garfield	...	Rodrigues
Adam Driver	...	Garupe
Liam Neeson	...	Ferreira
Tadanobu Asano	...	Interpreter
Ciarán Hinds	...	Father Valignano
Issei Ogata	...	Old Samurai / Inoue (as Issey Ogata)
Shin'ya Tsukamoto	...	Mokichi
Yoshi Oida	...	Ichizo
Yôsuke Kubozuka	...	Kichijiro (as Yosuke Kubozuka)
Kaoru Endô	...	Unzen Samurai (Uneme)
Diego Calderón	...	Prisoner Augustinian Friar #2 (as Diego Calderon)
Rafael Kading	...	Prisoner Augustinian Friar #1
Matthew Blake	...	Prisoner Franciscan Friar
Benoit Masse	...	Prisoner Augustinian Friar #3
Tetsuya Igawa	...	Prisoner Japanese Jesuit

Storyline

Intent on investigating the truth behind Father Cristovão Ferreira's abrupt end of correspondence, the devout Portuguese Catholic priests, Sebastião Rodrigues and Francisco Garupe, set off to Japan, in 1633. In great disbelief, as the rumours of Ferreira's apostasy still echo in their minds, the zealous Jesuit missionaries try to locate their mentor, amid the bloodshed of the violent anti-Christian purges. Under those circumstances, the two men and the Japanese guide, Kichijiro, arrive in Japan, only to witness firsthand the unbearable burden of those who have a different belief in a land founded on tradition. Now--as the powerful Grand Inquisitor, Inoue, performs hideous tortures on the brave Japanese Christians--Father Rodrigues will soon have to put his faith to the ultimate test: renounce it in exchange for the prisoners' lives. There, in the ends of the world, a subtle change has begun; however, why is God's silence so deafening?

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Plot Keywords:

portuguese | japan | religious persecution | jesuit priest | torture | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes silence is the deadliest sound.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some disturbing violent content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Liam Neeson lost 20 pounds for his role.

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Goofs

In the scene where Rodrigues and his Translator meet Garupe on the beach, Just after Garupe jumps into the ocean and starts to swim, The Translator is saying dialogue but his lips are not moving for most of the spoken line, and what is spoken does not match his lip movements.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ferreira: [narrating] 1633. Pax Christi. Praised be God. Although for us there is little peace in this land now. I never knew Japan when it was a country of light, but I have never known it to be as dark as it is now. All our progress has ended in new persecution, new repression, new suffering. They use ladles filled with holes so the drops would come out slowly, and the pain would be prolonged. Each small splash of the water was like a burning coal. The Governor of Nagasaki took four friars,...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

For the Japanese Christians and their pastors Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Amazing Movies You Missed This Winter (2017)

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Soundtracks

Taiko Beat
Written by Michael Silverman and Robert Silverman
Performed by Taiko Drums
Courtesy of New Element and TuneCore, Inc.

User Reviews

Masterful In Craft & Rich In Experience, But Dreary In Nature

To this day, Martin Scorsese remains my all-time favourite director, a man whose approach to cinema completely differs to others in Hollywood, his appreciation towards cinema as an art form is his finest quality in what makes him arguably the greatest film director around. With 'Silence' promoted as Scorsese's 20-year passion project, it was a film I couldn't resist seeing, the legend back behind the camera focusing on a subject not fully studied in cinema, a subject that's mostly misunderstood.

I want to start with my conclusion and go from there. 'Silence' won't be everybody's film, the same way other ambitious films like 'The Revenant' or 'The Tree of Life' weren't, however despite my respect to Scorsese's mastery and level of detail, in my own honest opinion I believe this film fell short due to the lack of insight into it's main theme and thus instead transformed into a slow and somewhat dreary tale that arguably didn't need it's near 3-hour running time to tell its tale.

Now don't get me wrong, in regards to the film's craft it is a masterpiece, the cinematography is raw and epic, the direction from Scorsese is phenomenal and the set design is gorgeous. Accompanying this are a series of fine performances, most notably from Andrew Garfield who should receive monumental praise for his role, I haven't seen such a visceral performance in years, the raw emotion is uncanny. But unfortunately the technicalities and craft can't cover up the flaws that lie in the running time and the tediously slow plot that didn't want to end.

If there's anything I can leave you with from this review to help you decide as to whether it's a worthy watch or not, let me just say this: 'Silence' isn't a piece of entertainment, it's instead an experience; and whilst a technically masterful one at that, many audience members may find themselves slowly drifting off to sleep - as my neighbour in the cinema did. It isn't really a case of liking it or disliking it, it's more a case of the adventure, and despite my partial disappointment with it, the adventure was more than worthy enough for the viewing. Scorsese is still an exquisite auteur, flaws or not.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK Taiwan Japan Mexico Italy

Language:

English Japanese Latin

Release Date:

13 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Silence

Filming Locations:

Taiwan

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$130,880, 25 December 2016

Gross USA:

$7,100,177

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,834,809

Company Credits

Production Co:

SharpSword Films, AI-Film, CatchPlay

Technical Specs

Runtime:

161 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1