Movie · 2016 · Drama, History · 2h 41m · R · English
Curator score: 8.3/10 (386.2K ratings)
Sometimes silence is the deadliest sound.
Overview
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds, Issey Ogata, Shinya Tsukamoto, Yoshi Oida, Yosuke Kubozuka, Kaoru Endō, Diego Calderón, Rafael Kading, Matthew Blake, Benoit Masse, Tetsuya Igawa, Shi Liang, Panta, Takuya Matsunaga, Miho Harita, Hairi Katagiri
Curator Review
Verdict
A severe, searching historical drama about faith under pressure, Silence is patient, punishing, and emotionally thorny rather than conventionally inspirational. It rewards viewers who want moral ambiguity, spiritual crisis, and rigorous filmmaking over plot momentum.
Best for
Viewers interested in religious or philosophical cinema
Fans of slow-burn historical dramas
People who like morally complex, dialogue-driven films
Audiences open to intense suffering and ambiguity
Skip if
You want a brisk or uplifting story
You prefer clear answers about belief and morality
You are sensitive to prolonged cruelty and torture
You dislike meditative, deliberately paced films
Overview
Silence is one of Martin Scorsese’s most austere and searching films, a work that treats faith not as comfort but as a wound that never quite closes. It follows two priests into a world where belief is tested by fear, guilt, and the impossible demand to choose between personal conviction and the lives of others.
Worth noting
What makes it so powerful is its refusal to simplify either side. The film is spiritually serious without becoming devotional propaganda, and historically attentive without turning into a lecture. Its long stretches of stillness, landscape, and dread create an atmosphere where every choice feels morally contaminated.
Bottom line
This is not an easy watch, but it is a deeply committed one. The performances are restrained and devastating, and the film’s final movement lingers because it understands that surrender can look like betrayal, mercy, or both at once.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Karsten (4★) · 3658 likes
I'm....hm....uh.... Writing about movies is hard lol, writing about Silence is hell.
At the ripe age of 22 I still don't know where I stand on religion, I just have a lot of opinions on it that nobody wants to hear about. But what I'm trying to say is I feel like with a film like this, a film as subtly extreme and exhausting as this, your view on religion is going to impact how you take in this movie.… more
SilentDawn (5★) · 2917 likes
100
"Those five in the pit are suffering too, just like Jesus, but they don't have your pride. They would never compare themselves to Jesus. Do you have the right to make them suffer? I heard the cries of suffering in this same cell. And I acted."
I remember it vividly; like a memory still lingering fresh in the mind. It was my first time attending the sacrament of reconciliation, and I was just as nervous as the many other… more
Nakul (4.5★) · 2846 likes
god-fellas.
matt lynch (4★) · 2764 likes
THE LAST TEMPTATION OF GARFIELD
maria (4.5★) · 2673 likes
andrew garfield and adam driver: *go through hell to save liam neeson and his soul*
liam neeson: me no christian no more me a weeboo
andrew garfield: please say sike
2018 · Drama · 1h 53m · R · Curator 8.8/10 (323.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix Standard with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A modern spiritual crisis film about guilt, doubt, and the burden of moral witness.