Silence (2016 film)



Silence is a 2016 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks and Scorsese, based upon the 1966 novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō. While the story is set in Nagasaki, Japan, the film was shot entirely in Taipei, Taiwan. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano and Ciarán Hinds. The plot follows two 17th century Jesuit priests who travel from Portugal to Japan in order to locate their missing mentor and spread Catholicism.

A long-time passion project of Scorsese's, which he had developed for over 25 years, the film premiered in Rome on November 29, 2016, and was released in the United States on December 23, 2016. The film was chosen by American Film Institute as one of the Top Ten Films of 2016.

Plot
In the seventeenth century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor (Liam Neeson), who had committed apostasy after being tortured. The story takes place in the time of Kakure Kirishitan ("Hidden Christians") that followed the defeat of the Shimabara Rebellion (1637–1638) of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Tokugawa shogunate.

Cast

 * Andrew Garfield as Sebastião Rodrigues (based on Giuseppe Chiara)
 * Adam Driver as Francisco Garupe
 * Liam Neeson as Father Cristóvão Ferreira
 * Tadanobu Asano as an interpreter for the priests
 * Ciarán Hinds as Father Alessandro Valignano
 * Shinya Tsukamoto as Mokichi
 * Yōsuke Kubozuka as Kichijiro
 * Issey Ogata as Inoue Masashige
 * Nana Komatsu as Monica (Haru)
 * Shinya Tsukamoto as Mokichi
 * Yoshi Oida as Ichizo
 * Yōsuke Kubozuka as Kichijirio

Development
This film marks the second adaptation of Shūsaku Endō's novel, which was previously adapted by Masahiro Shinoda into the 1971 film of the same name.

The film is considered a "passion project" of Scorsese's and has been in development since 1990, two years after the release of Scorsese's most controversial film, also with strongly religious themes, The Last Temptation of Christ. When asked why he retained interest in the project for over 20 years, Scorsese stated: "As you get older, ideas go and come. Questions, answers, loss of the answer again and more questions, and this is what really interests me. Yes, the cinema and the people in my life and my family are most important, but ultimately as you get older, there's got to be more. Much, much more. The very nature of secularism right now is really fascinating to me, but at the same time do you wipe away what could be more enriching in your life, which is an appreciation or some sort of search for that which is spiritual and transcends? That's one of the reasons why I made the George Harrison documentary. Silence is just something that I'm drawn to in that way. It's been an obsession, it has to be done... it's a strong, wonderful true story, a thriller in a way, but it deals with those questions."

In 2009, Scorsese and the production crew went to Nagasaki, Japan, to visit the original sites Endo's novel was based on. The production had begun to coalesce, with Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio del Toro, and Gael García Bernal in negotiations to star. However, Silence entered a state of development hell soon afterwards, with Scorsese deciding to work on Shutter Island and Hugo instead. In 2010, del Toro partially distanced himself from the project during promotion for The Wolfman, stating, "It would be a dream to work with Scorsese. Silence, the film we were going to do, has been pushed back but that's definitely something that I'm really looking forward to."

In December 2011, Scorsese stated that Silence would be his next film. He also cast uncertainty on the involvements of Day-Lewis, del Toro, and Bernal. In January 2012, Scorsese discussed the possibility of utilizing 3D for both Silence and a Frank Sinatra biopic he was developing.

In March, though he had originally put it on the back burner and consequently dropped out, Scorsese signed back on to The Wolf of Wall Street and opted to direct it ahead of Silence. However, at the time, Scorsese's publicist stated that Silence would come first.

In May, the film picked up another producer in the recently revived Cecchi Gori Pictures, which placed the project first on its slate of upcoming films. Cecchi Gori was involved in pre-production for Silence, but years of unrelated legal disputes had interrupted its association to the film.

In August 2012, Cecchi Gori Pictures sued Scorsese over an alleged breach of contract agreements related to Silence. According to the company, in 1990 Scorsese signed a written agreement to direct Silence. Scorsese was supposed to shoot the film following 1997's Kundun, and Cecchi Gori Pictures had apparently invested more than $750,000 for this purpose. However, Scorsese chose to make Bringing Out the Dead, Gangs of New York, and The Aviator first. Then, in 2004, Scorsese purportedly signed deals to postpone the film further in order to direct The Departed and Shutter Island. In 2011, Scorsese ostensibly agreed to one more deal, delaying Silence to direct Hugo. Cecchi Gori Pictures asserted that Scorsese agreed to pay "substantial compensation and other valuable benefits" to direct The Departed, Shutter Island, and Hugo. The company said the fees were "$1 million to $1.5 million per film plus up to 20 percent of Scorsese's backend compensation." The complaint was centered around the company's allegation that Scorsese failed to pay the fees agreed upon for Hugo, and that he breached the contract's terms by filming The Wolf of Wall Street ahead of Silence. Scorsese, via his representatives, responded, "The claims asserted are completely contradicted by, inconsistent with, and contrary to the express terms of an agreement entered into by the parties last year." He also denounced the lawsuit as a "media stunt" and a "meritless action." The lawsuit was settled on January 17, 2014. The terms of the settlement were undisclosed.

On April 19, 2013, it was announced that Scorsese would begin production on Silence in 2014, after a reputed 23-year wait. Irwin Winkler was announced as a producer the same day, as were Randall Emmett and George Furla, who would also finance the production through their company Emmett/Furla Films. Paul Breuls' Corsan Films was also reportedly funding the project. Additionally, it was announced that the film would be shot in Taiwan.

By February 2014, Scorsese had begun scouting locations in Taiwan, with filming set for the summer. Producer Irwin Winkler stated the choice to film in Taiwan was due to lower costs. "[The movie] was very, very expensive, and it was budgeted, because it takes place in 1670 in Japan. We got lucky and found out about Taipei, and in and around Taipei and Taiwan, we found great, great locations. The prices were very cheap, and we were able to make it for a price." Winkler also disclosed that the tight budget forced many of the cast and crew, including himself, to work for minimum pay: "And all the actors, Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, everybody worked for scale. Marty worked for scale, I worked for under scale. We gave back money."

Endō's official translator Professor Van C. Gessel, who has translated eight of his novels, assisted as a consultant on the film.

Father James Martin worked closely with the filmmakers to ensure an accurate portrayal of the Jesuits.

Casting
In May 2013, Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe joined the cast. Garfield was cast as Father Rodrigues, one of the Jesuit priests, and Watanabe as the priests' translator. In January 2014, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson joined the film, with Driver as Father Francisco Garrpe, the second Jesuit priest, and Neeson as the priests' mentor, Father Cristóvão Ferreira. In January 2015, Watanabe left the project due to schedule issues and was replaced by Tadanobu Asano.

Filming
Principal photography took place in Taiwan from January 30 to May 15, 2015.

On January 28, 2015, the production experienced an accident at Taiwan's CMPC Studios. According to a spokesperson for the film, "An existing structure on the CMPC backlot had been deemed unsafe by the production, and accordingly a third-party contractor was hired to reinforce and make it safe prior to any production-related work commencing in this building. During this process, the ceiling collapsed, resulting in the death of one of the contractor's employees and injuries to two others."

Release
Scorsese brokered several distribution deals when he attended the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. In July 2014, Paramount Pictures acquired distribution rights for the United States and eyed a late 2015 release. Discussing the film in March 2016, Winkler revealed the film was in the editing process and that the film would release "at the end of the year," confirming a 2016 release date. In August 2016, Scorsese stated the film would be completed in October, and the 2016 release of the film depended on Paramount. Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for the film on November 22, 2016.

The world premiere of the film was held at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome on November 29, followed by a special screening the next day in Vatican City. It received a limited release on December 23, 2016, and is set to expand on January 13, 2017.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89% based on 93 reviews, and an average rating of 8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "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." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 82 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film four out of four stars, stating that "Silence is a monumental work, and a punishing one. It puts you through hell with no promise of enlightenment, only a set of questions and propositions, sensations and experiences.... This is not the sort of film you 'like' or 'don't like.' It's a film that you experience and then live with."