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Silence

Play trailer 2:13 Poster for Silence R 2017 2h 41m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 288 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Two 17th-century Portuguese missionaries, Father Sebastian Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), embark on a perilous journey to Japan to find their missing mentor (Liam Neeson). While there, the two men minister to the Christian villagers who worship in secret. If caught by feudal lords or ruling samurai, they must renounce their faith or face a prolonged and agonizing death.
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Silence

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Critics Consensus

Silence ends Martin Scorsese's decades-long creative quest with a thoughtful, emotionally resonant look at spirituality and human nature that stands among the director's finest works.

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Critics Reviews

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Wenlei Ma News.com.au While it is certainly more like an endurance race than a stroll through the park, there is something redeeming in its cinematic beauty. Rated: 3/5 Feb 15, 2017 Full Review Claudia Puig The Asahi Shimbun GLOBE (Japan) While the craftsmanship is undeniable and the themes of spiritual belief, betrayal and redemption are laudable, the film feels flat and not as emotional or moving as it should be. Rated: 2.5/4 Feb 2, 2017 Full Review Amy Nicholson MTV Scorsese doesn't glorify martyrdom, and he doesn't even hate the killers. He makes death as blunt and dull and useless as a snapped pencil. The point is that there is no point. Rated: B+ Jan 13, 2017 Full Review Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson It is an agonizing personal test for an audience, just the same as it is for the characters on screen. This will either be a soul-rattling testament or maddening torture. Rated: 3/5 Jul 28, 2025 Full Review Mike Thorn Vague Visages Rodrigues commits to the preservation of his Christianity, refusing to apostatize no matter what the consequences might be. Dec 12, 2023 Full Review Erica Peplin Vague Visages For all its violence and grandiosity, it stands as an impressively filmed indictment against religious persecution. Dec 5, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Rémi V Beautiful and captivating, but too one-sided to be universal and fully accomplished Christians will find in this film a study of faith and its nature, confronted with other cultures and religions. How far can it go, and at what cost? At what point does one betray their faith by clinging to it too tightly? The film addresses these questions at length and in detail, with relevance but also many slow moments and repetitions, offering only a single point of view: that of the Jesuit priest, necessarily noble and necessarily a victim. Non-believers will find much to criticize in this work, first and foremost the singular perspective just mentioned and the glaring lack of historical and religious context—so much so that one often feels the film is aimed solely at Catholic believers. We never learn how Father Ferreira’s evangelization of Japan unfolded before he was captured and tortured, nor why the Japanese carried out such a cruel and relentless inquisition. This contextualization could have added welcome nuance and made the film more accomplished, since the sense of Manichaeism persists throughout the work. Still, this story of apostate Jesuit priests in 17th-century Japan—little known to the general public—is fascinating and beautifully told. Technically, the film is highly accomplished. Only the performances of the two main actors, though respectable, sometimes lack credibility and do not always ring true. A deeper contextualization would likely have strengthened the film’s message and smoothed out its pacing and narrative. To be viewed as an introduction to this chapter of religious history, with distance and reservations. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/24/25 Full Review Adam D. It’s a stunning work of art, the cinematography is outstanding. The acting is excellent. It’s just a very hard film to watch, you endure it rather than enjoy it. In think that’s the point of it, but there was no lightness, no levity. It’s very real, very gritty, very beautiful but not one to rewatch. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/03/25 Full Review Ralph P Beautiful cinematography and wonderful acting. Just another routine by Hollywood another cultural industries to integrate and belittle Christians. To show the Christian faith as the cultural scourge which causes other cultures to justifying the rejected and use force to stop its proliferation. and of course, to show priests as a little more than human beings that will cave under weaknesses, no matter how weak or strong. It certainly paints fuel. Japan is an orderly society, which is using all means necessarily to stamp out foreign interest and preserve their way of life. Certainly way too long, and there was too much silence in silence. Mostly a snore fest with beautiful scenery and occasionally good acting. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/17/25 Full Review HameZz Z Very contemplative movie. Will need to rewatch again. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/24/25 Full Review Anton P It saddens me how this movie ends. It’s dramatic, cinematic, and very raw & based on a true story. Despite of that, the premise is completely wrong. Anyone who has read through the New Testament can see that this film is completely, 100% wrong on its premise of the price for rejecting Jesus- the movie even stating that Jesus approves of it. It makes Christ seem as nothing, to suffer for Him as an inconvenience and love this earthly life. An honest read of the New Testament shows that to suffer for Him results in Heavenly reward & favor from Him. A sad story and unfortunately completely off the mark about the true Christian faith. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/17/25 Full Review Johannes S Gorgeous movie and one of those, where you sit still for minutes after it ends. The natural sounds are powerfully used. The torture scenes are gutwrenching. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/12/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Silence

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Movie Info

Synopsis Two 17th-century Portuguese missionaries, Father Sebastian Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), embark on a perilous journey to Japan to find their missing mentor (Liam Neeson). While there, the two men minister to the Christian villagers who worship in secret. If caught by feudal lords or ruling samurai, they must renounce their faith or face a prolonged and agonizing death.
Director
Martin Scorsese
Producer
Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Barbara De Fina, Gastón Pavlovich, Irwin Winkler, Vittorio Cecchi Gori
Screenwriter
Martin Scorsese, Jay Cocks
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Sharpsword Films, G&G, Sikelia, YLK, EFO Films, Catchplay
Rating
R (Disturbing Violent Content)
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 13, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.1M
Runtime
2h 41m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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