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Silence 15 rating

Scorsese’s epic meditation on spiritual strength, with Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as missionaries on the search for their missing mentor.

Drama 2017 161 mins

Director: Martin Scorsese

CC

Overview

Scorsese’s epic meditation on inner faith and external resolve follows two Portuguese missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) as they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) - at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden.

The spectacular result of a 28-year obsession to bring Shûsaku Endô’s novel to the screen (filmed once before by Masahiro Shinoda), Silence is at once a deeply personal reflection on the strength of faith at all costs, but also a riveting historical drama documenting a fascinating period on Japanese history. With its narrative of infiltration, intrigue and endurance, Scorsese also clearly posits the parallels with more contemporary spy and prisoner-of-war fiction, albeit transplanted to a 17th-centurty Japan that’s lovingly conjured by cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and production designer Dante Ferretti.

The excellent acting of the principle trio is compounded by a fascinating cast of Japanese character actors including Tadanobu Asano (Thor, Ichi the Killer), Issey Ogata (The Sun) and notable Japanese filmmaker Shin'ya Tsukamoto (director of Tetsuo).

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