Silence
Short description
Silence is a historical drama set in the seventeenth century, when Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate had outlawed Catholicism and cut itself off from most foreign contact. Two young Jesuit priests, Sebastião Rodrigues and Francisco Garupe, leave Portugal for Japan to find their former mentor, Cristóvão Ferreira, who is rumored to have renounced his faith. They arrive to find Japanese Christians persecuted by the authorities, and their search becomes a test of their own belief.
Martin Scorsese directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Jay Cocks, and produced with Barbara De Fina and Irwin Winkler. The film is the thirty-first of thirty-eight features he has directed, following The Audition and preceding The Irishman. Andrew Garfield plays Rodrigues, Adam Driver plays Garupe, and Liam Neeson plays Ferreira, with supporting roles from Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds and Issey Ogata. Around seventy cast members and one hundred fifty crew were credited.
Released in December 2016, the production had a budget of forty-six million dollars and took about twenty-four million dollars worldwide, a modest return for a film of its scale. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.2 from roughly one hundred thirty-three thousand votes, and on TMDB 7.1 from a few thousand. A critics' rating of 7.6 from two hundred eighty-eight reviews is slightly above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Following "Hugo" (2011) and "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), in which Martin Scorsese liberally used digital effects, this is the first film since "Shutter Island" (2009) that the director has shot entirely on 35mm film.
- Initially, Daniel Day-Lewis was cast as Father Ferreira, Gael García Bernal as Father Rodrigues, and Benicio Del Toro as Father Francisco Garrpe for the three leading roles. All three dropped out of the project due to the film's constant production delays.
- According to producer Emma Tillinger, due to unfavorable weather and a limited budget, filming the movie turned out to be the most grueling and harsh experience for her and Scorsese throughout their careers.
- According to author Shusaku Endo, he used Federico Fellini’s "La Strada" (1954) as inspiration when writing the novel.
- Ken Watanabe was originally intended to play the role of the Jesuit priests’ Japanese translator, but he left the project before filming began, and the role went to Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano.
- Liam Neeson previously played the role of a Jesuit priest in "The Mission" (1986), which is also set in the 17th century.
- Ken Watanabe was originally considered for the role of the Japanese translator, but he left the project before filming began.
- This is Martin Scorsese’s third film on a religious theme, following “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) and “Kundun” (1997).
- Martin Scorsese's first involvement in a project as a screenwriter since "Casino" (1995).
- A special screening of the film was held in Rome for four hundred Jesuit priests.
- Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Jay Cocks wrote the first draft of the script back in the 1990s with the intention of filming it after "Gangs of New York" (2002). However, Scorsese was unable to find funding for the project and instead took on "The Aviator" (2004).
- This is the second joint project of Martin Scorsese and Liam Neeson after "Gangs of New York" (2002).
- According to Scorsese, Shusaku Endo's novel attracted him as a Catholic due to its theme of God's silence in the face of the world's suffering.
- Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson swapped roles in long-gestating projects. Neeson was the leading candidate for the titular role in the stalled biopic "Lincoln" (2012), but when the actor left the project, Day-Lewis took his place. Ironically, in that film, Neeson replaced Day-Lewis, who had long been attached to the project as the role of Father Ferreira. Adam Driver appeared in both films.
- In October 2016, producer Irwin Winkler stated that, in his opinion, this is Martin Scorsese's best film. Winkler has produced such films by the director as "New York, New York" (1977), "Raging Bull" (1980), and "Goodfellas" (1990), and also served as executive producer of "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013).
- This is the second film based on the novel of the same name. The first film, a Japanese production, was released in 1971, almost 5 years after the book was published in 1966.
- Although the plot of the novel takes place in Japan, Scorsese decided to film entirely in Taiwan after Ang Lee shared his experience working on "Life of Pi" (2012) on the island.
- Liam Neeson and Adam Driver both appeared in the "Star Wars" cinematic universe: Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in the first episode of the saga, and Driver as Kylo Ren in the seventh.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
