SILENCE Trailer

Silence is the long-awaited adaptation of the 1966 eponymous Shūsaku Endō novel by Martin Scorsese. Scorsese, who at one point wanted to become a priest, first read the book in the late 1980s while in Japan to shoot his appearance as Vincent Van Gogh in a Kurosawa movie named Yume. Since then, Scorsese has tried to get this movie made many times, however, financing was always an issue, which is why it took almost 30 years for this movie to reach theaters.

Silence is not the first adaptation of the novel: 1971 saw the release of Chinmoku (which means silence in Japanese). Although religion has been a major theme throughout Scorsese’s career, Silence will be the third in his trilogy of films about religion, the first being The Last Temptation of Christ and the second being Kundun.

Silence tells the story of two young Jesuit priests, played by Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield, who travel to Japan to find their mentor, played by Liam Neeson, after word of his apostasy reaches them. Travelling to Japan was quite dangerous for Jesuits in the 17th century as it was illegal for priests to preach the gospel in Japan, but they decide to go nevertheless, because they can’t believe their mentor has abandoned the faith. When they arrive, they start preaching the gospel, leading to some horrific acts of violence against their followers.

Silence is reminiscent of Hacksaw Ridge) and this trailer gives me plenty of reasons to believe this will be as good, if not better, than Hacksaw Ridge.

Silence is directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Adam Driver, Andrew Garfield, Ciarán Hinds and Liam Neeson. The first showing of Silence will take place in Vatican City on the 29th of November, 2016. The movie will then be released in the U.S. on December 23rd, 2016 and in the U.K. on January 1st, 2017. For international release dates, click here.

Did this trailer convert you or did it leave you a doubting Thomas? Let us know in the comments!