A fascinating and thought-provoking piece of cinema from the veteran director

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2017)

Silence is a drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson. Based on the book of the same name, it is a fascinating and thought-provoking piece of cinema from the veteran director.
In 1640, two Portuguese priests, Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver) travel to Japan to recover their mentor (Liam Neeson), who has been missing for sometime and is rumoured to have committed apostasy. Upon sneaking into Japan, where Christianity is strictly outlawed, the two priests attempt to preach Catholicism to some small villages, all while avoiding detection from local samurais.
Whether one is deeply religious or not, this film leaves a lasting impression and will likely cause one to question their personal beliefs. I particularly liked the nice blend of Eastern and Western influences throughout the story, which adds to its intriguing tone. The Eastern parts seem reminiscent of director Akira Kurosawa's work and the Western parts feel like classic Hollywood. Despite its 161 minute running time, the film never feels boring or slow, mainly due to Scorsese's clever directorial techniques. This has been a passion project for the acclaimed director over the past 25 years and certainly shows. One can't help but notice the care and attention to detail he put into making this film.
I rate it 8/10