Silence

"Sometimes silence is the deadliest sound."

2016 2h 41m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 3,424

DramaHistory

Synopsis

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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.

“Sometimes silence is the deadliest sound.”

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Cast

Andrew Garfield
Rodrigues
Adam Driver
Garupe
Liam Neeson
Ferreira
Tadanobu Asano
Interpreter
Ciarán Hinds
Father Valignano
Issey Ogata
Old Samurai / Inoue
Shinya Tsukamoto
Mokichi
Yoshi Oida
Ichizo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese
Languages: Japanese, English
Countries: Mexico, Taiwan, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 161 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 52% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Mexico, Taiwan, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

232+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Martin Scorsese, shot by Rodrigo Prieto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kathryn Kluge. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martin Scorsese directs. Rodrigo Prieto behind the camera. Kathryn Kluge scores. Thelma Schoonmaker cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Mexico, Taiwan, United States of America. Dialogue in Japanese, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 161 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Earned back only 52% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 10 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, English.
5International production across 3 countries: Mexico, Taiwan, United States of America.
6232+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by Martin Scorsese, shot by Rodrigo Prieto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Kathryn Kluge. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Thelma Schoonmaker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver and Liam Neeson carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "Sometimes silence is the deadliest sound.".
12IMDB entry: tt0490215 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 20 themes, including "japan", "based on novel or book", "christianity", "missionary".
14Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto
Original score: Kathryn Kluge
Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker
Production design: Dante Ferretti
Costume design: Dante Ferretti
Makeup / hair: Noriko Watanabe
VFX supervisor: Pablo Helman
Sound: Tom Fleischman
Stunt coordinator: Victor Paguia
Runtime: 161 min · 2h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $46,000,000
Box office: $23,834,809
Return: 52% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Silence (2016)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Martin Scorsese

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2024-03-17
★ 4/10
Great filmmaking, cast and locations, but strangely inert (overlong) story Released in late 2016 and directed by Martin Scorsese based on the novel by Shûsaku Endô, "Silence" chronicles events in 1640 when two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield & Adam Driver) journey to Japan to check on the persecuted church and find out what happened to their mentor, whom it is rumored fell from the faith (Liam Neeson). Issei Ogata is on hand as the sadistic, but seemingly reasonable Japanese inquisitor. The Jesuits were a society of Catholic missionaries started in 1540 in response to the spreading evangelism of the Protestant reformers. They were an essential part of the Roman counter-Reformation. With this in mind, the seeming Christianity portrayed in the movie is decidedly Catholic in nature, with the requisite unbiblical stuff, like confessions to priests, icons, rosary beads, etc. In tone and theme, "Silence" is reminiscent of movies like the excellent "Black Robe" (1991), the solid "The Mission" (1986) and the surprisingly great "Black Death" (see my review). There are also elements of "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957). If you appreciate any of these films you might appreciate "Silence," but it didn't work for me. Sure, Scorsese is a great auteur and so the filmmaking is top-of-the-line – the cinematography, the cast, the costuming, locations and score. Unfortunately, the story's not compelling and I never connected with the main character, despite Garfield's quality performance. There's some worthy mindfood (or spiritfood) to glean from the proceedings, however, like: Why does God allow the excruciating persecution of His faithful? Why is He silent? IS He silent? Can a believer be restored after cowardly denying the Lord in the face of torture/death? Can a Christian hide their faith while living in a thoroughly hostile culture? But I didn't buy for a second that the Japanese couldn't conceive of a Deity that transcends physical nature, like the sun, sea or mountain. While the idea may have been alien to their communal mindset at the time, it's absurd to think that no individual man or woman could discern the obvious (see Psalm 19:1 & Romans 1:20). Although I'm sorta glad I saw it, "Silence" is curiously dull and overlong; and so I never care to see it again. There are far superior movies that tackle similar topics. Those who give it the highest possible rating must be fanatical devotees of Scorsese. The movie runs 161 minutes and was shot in Taiwan and the Cathedral Of Saint Paul In Macau, China. GRADE: C-

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