Silence (2016) on Netflix
In 1630s Japan, two Portuguese Jesuit priests, Sebastião Rodrigues and Francisco Garupe, seek their mentor, rumored to have renounced his faith. Kichijirō guides them to hidden Christians.
- Netflix3.0/5
- IMDb7.2/10136,135 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes83%
Trailer
Plot summary
Portuguese Jesuit priests Sebastião Rodrigues and Francisco Garupe learn that their former mentor, Cristóvão Ferreira, has renounced his faith in Japan, where Christianity is banned and believers are tortured. The two travel there to find him, guided by Kichijirō, a ragged Japanese fisherman who speaks Portuguese but insists he is not a Christian. They reach a village called Tomogi near Nagasaki, where Christians have lived for years without a priest; the two minister to them in secret, hearing confessions and giving out a crucifix and rosary beads. Government officials arrive to root out the hidden believers and take four hostages, among them Kichijirō, serving the campaign of the Inquisitor Inoue.
Cast
- Kaoru Endôas Unzen Samurai (Uneme)
- Diego Calderónas Prisoner Augustinian Friar #2 (as Diego Calderon)
- Rafael Kadingas Prisoner Augustinian Friar #1
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- Matthew Blakeas Prisoner Franciscan Friar
- Benoit Masseas Prisoner Augustinian Friar #3
- Pantaas Tomogi Villager #1 (Yohei)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Silence (2016)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- During production of Silence in Taiwan, a ceiling collapsed in a backlot at CMPC Studios on January 28, 2015, killing one contracted employee and injuring two others, according to a film spokesperson.
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio del Toro and Gael García Bernal were in negotiations to star in Silence in 2009 and 2010 but all were lost by 2011, and Ken Watanabe, cast as the priests' translator, was replaced by Tadanobu Asano in 2015.
- Producer Irwin Winkler said the tight budget forced the cast and crew to work for minimum pay: Liam Neeson, Adam Driver and Scorsese worked for scale, Winkler worked for under scale, and they gave back money.
- Scorsese committed to Silence after finishing The Wolf of Wall Street, announcing in April 2013 that production would start in 2014, after a reputed 23-year wait.
- Martin Scorsese wrote Silence's first screenplay with Jay Cocks in 1991, but they were unhappy with it and kept rewriting for another 15 years.
- Adam Driver lost close to fifty pounds to play Francisco Garupe, and he and Andrew Garfield did a seven-day Jesuit silent prayer retreat arranged with the help of the Jesuit scholar Martin.
- Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto faked moonlight in Silence's night scenes with a rig of blue-green lights called a "UFO" that was hung on a crane.
