After 20 years, Martin Scorsese’s Silence will begin filming January 30th

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Ever since I cared about movie news, I’ve been waiting for Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE. He’s been trying to get the 1966 novel by Shusaku Endo adapted for twenty years and it’s finally happening.  The novel revolves around two 17th-century Jesuit priests who travel to Japan to investigate claims of religious persecution and whether or not their mentor has broken from the church. The film will star Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as the young priests and the great Liam Neeson will take a break from action movies to be their mentor.

In other words:

Silence is a novel of historical fiction by Japanese author Shusaku Endo. It is the story of a Jesuit missionary sent to seventeenth century Japan, who endured persecution in the time of Kakure Kirishitan ("Hidden Christians") that followed the defeat of the Shimabara Rebellion.

Fábrica de Cine and SharpSword Films have announced that they will produce and provide the financing for the passion project, and principal photography will finally begin on January 30th, that’s this month, in Taiwain. "I’ve wanted to make “Silence” for almost two decades, and it is finally a reality" Scorsese said in a press release.

Whenever Scorsese tackles faith, and that’s just about every movie of his if you’re paying attention, he manages to make it entertaining and relevant. When he tackles it head on, and people stop to watch instead of shout, it can be a surreal experience. This cast and premise are enough to get anyone excited about Scorsese’s passion project finally getting underway.

Paramount will distribute the film in the U.S., and is aiming for a 2016 release.