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Silence

Play trailer Poster for Silence 1971 2h 9m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Two Portuguese priests go to Japan to help Christian sects, driven underground by a ruthless magistracy, to regain a foothold. Quickly drawn into a mire of persecution, the missionaries soon learn the fate of a mission decades earlier.

Critics Reviews

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Anton Bitel Film International Here the eternal clash of water and land becomes a powerful metaphor for East and West, constantly, often violently, renegotiating their inevitable interrelationship. May 15, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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acsdoug D When I saw Martin Scorcese's 2016 version I knew it was adapted from a novel. What I didn't know was that the Japanese made a film of it 45 years earlier. I would give the nod to Scorcese's film if for no other reason than the acting is better. While Mako is excellent as Kichijiro I suspect that the English actors were cast more for their Japanese speaking skills than their acting abilities. Still, the story is a strong one and this version is well worth watching. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/02/24 Full Review Audience Member The ancestor of Scorsese's Silence. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member I feel the need to write a book in order to comment and develop <i>Chinmoku</i> and its religious implications from a true Christian perspective, and not the one offered in the film (for starters, Christianism condemns the worshipping of religious imagery and doesn't promote confession), since the Portuguese priests here are entirely on the side of Catholic idolatry. Nevertheless, objectively speaking, it's necessary to stand up and say aloud: "It is not religion the one that should be condemned, but its human execution and intolerance." Powerful and strong masterpiece set in religious hostility and moral blindness, just like nowadays. 99/100 Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member it is still hurting my mind. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member An acceptable film version of the classic Shusaku Endo's novel, also called "Silence". Good direction, interpretations and photography, to better understand, from every points of view, the years of the persecutions (and consequent prosecutions and executions) against Christians in Japan, in early 17th century. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member The human heart is of mischievous purpose,unconditional destinations.I don't know what's more shocking,the priest's clarity or the villagers' stubbornness.Lo to the folly of them all.... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Silence

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Two Portuguese priests go to Japan to help Christian sects, driven underground by a ruthless magistracy, to regain a foothold. Quickly drawn into a mire of persecution, the missionaries soon learn the fate of a mission decades earlier.
Director
Masahiro Shinoda
Screenwriter
Shusaku Endo, Masahiro Shinoda
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Runtime
2h 9m