7 Shocking Facts About Martin Scorsese's 'Silence': The Controversial Masterpiece That Bombed At The Box Office

Despite its status as a decades-long passion project for legendary director Martin Scorsese, the 2016 epic historical drama Silence remains one of the most challenging and least-seen films of his career. This profound meditation on faith, doubt, and cultural collision, based on the 1966 novel by Shūsaku Endō, explores the brutal persecution of Jesuit missionaries in 17th-century Japan. As of late 2025, the film is experiencing a critical reappraisal, with many critics and scholars now recognizing it as the true, uncompromising capstone to Scorsese’s unofficial "Trilogy of Faith."

The film’s commercial failure upon release starkly contrasts with its monumental themes and technical mastery. It forces the audience to confront the most agonizing questions of Christianity—not through action, but through the terrifying 'silence' of God in the face of human suffering. From its shocking box office numbers to the true meaning of its ambiguous final shot, here are the most compelling facts and deep-dive analyses of Martin Scorsese’s most personal and controversial film.

The Cast, Characters, and Key Historical Entities

Silence is an ensemble piece anchored by intense performances from a small core cast, all of whom committed to dramatic physical transformations and deep research for their roles. The story is a fictionalized account of historical events, specifically the brutal suppression of Christianity in Japan during the Edo period.

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• Director & Screenplay: Martin Scorsese
• Screenplay Co-Writer: Jay Cocks
• Based on the Novel by: Shūsaku Endō (1966)
• Historical Context: The story is set after the Shimabara Rebellion (1637–1638), during the height of the Tokugawa Shogunate's anti-Christian crackdown.

Central Cast and Characters

• Andrew Garfield as Father Sebastião Rodrigues: A young, idealistic Portuguese Jesuit priest. His journey forms the core of the film, as he travels to Japan to find his mentor and is ultimately forced to confront the limits of his own faith.
• Adam Driver as Father Francisco Garupe: Rodrigues's companion and fellow priest. Garupe represents a more rigid, traditional form of martyrdom and struggles with the moral compromises Rodrigues is asked to make.
• Liam Neeson as Father Cristóvão Ferreira: Rodrigues and Garupe's former mentor, rumored to have committed apostasy—renouncing his faith—under torture in Japan. His fate drives the plot.
• Issei Ogata as Inquisitor Inoue: The chief inquisitor and the primary antagonist. Ogata’s performance is noted for its chilling, polite, and philosophical cruelty, representing the Japanese government's determination to eradicate foreign influence.
• Tadanobu Asano as The Interpreter: A crucial figure who translates the demands of the Inquisitor, often with a detached, cynical air.
• Ciarán Hinds as Father Alessandro Valignano: The Jesuit official who initially sends Rodrigues and Garupe to Japan.

1. Scorsese’s 27-Year Passion Project and the ‘Trilogy of Faith’

The production of Silence was not just a film project; it was a decades-long spiritual quest for Martin Scorsese. He first encountered Shūsaku Endō’s novel in 1988, shortly after the controversial release of his film The Last Temptation of Christ. The novel’s themes of doubt, the nature of Christ, and the silence of God resonated deeply with his own Catholic upbringing and lifelong spiritual struggles.

Scorsese spent nearly three decades trying to bring the story to the screen, facing countless financing and logistical hurdles. The film is now widely considered the final, most mature chapter in his unofficial "Trilogy of Faith," following The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Kundun (1997). While the first two films explored the human and political sides of Christ and the Dalai Lama, Silence dives into the most painful question of all: whether God's silence in the face of suffering is an act of abandonment or a deeper form of love.

The director himself described the film as a "major stage in his pilgrimage of faith," indicating its deeply personal significance.

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2. The True Story of the Japanese Martyrs and the Fumi-e

The events depicted in Silence are firmly rooted in historical reality. Portuguese Jesuit missionaries did travel to Japan in the 17th century, leading to a period of intense Christian persecution by the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate, which viewed the religion as a dangerous foreign political threat.

The most agonizing element of the film, the act of apostasy, is directly tied to the historical practice of fumi-e. The Japanese authorities did not simply execute the priests; instead, they developed sophisticated psychological and physical tortures to force them to renounce their faith—apostasy—by stepping on a fumi-e, a carved or painted image of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. This public act was intended to destroy the faith of the local Japanese Christians, known as the Kirishitan, by breaking their leader's resolve.

The character of Father Ferreira is based on the real-life Portuguese Jesuit Cristóvão Ferreira, who did famously commit apostasy in 1633 after enduring torture, adopting a Japanese name, and even writing a book against Christianity.

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3. The Shocking Commercial Failure and Critical Divide

Despite the immense talent involved and Scorsese's reputation, Silence was a massive commercial disappointment. Produced on a budget estimated between $40 million and $50 million, the film grossed only about $7 million domestically and a total of $23 million worldwide. This box office failure was a major setback for the production company, with some analysts calling it one of the biggest flops of the year.

The reasons for the underperformance are numerous: the nearly three-hour run time, the challenging and bleak subject matter, and a deliberate lack of action-movie pacing. However, the critical response was polarized but generally highly positive, with many reviewers calling it a "masterpiece" and a profound cinematic achievement. The film’s slow, meditative pace and refusal to offer easy answers alienated mainstream audiences but cemented its status as a vital piece of art cinema for serious film scholars.

4. The Controversial Ending and the Voice of God

The film’s climax and final moments are the subject of intense debate among viewers and theologians alike. Father Rodrigues, having witnessed the torture of the Japanese faithful, is finally confronted with the fumi-e. In a moment of intense psychological torment, he hears a voice—which he perceives as the voice of Christ—telling him to step on the image.

This instruction to commit apostasy is the film's central theological shock. The voice tells Rodrigues: "Tread. It is for your sake that I trample." This suggests that Christ himself understands the pain and sacrifice, and that the act of renunciation is a profound act of love and mercy to save others from torture, rather than a failure of faith. The film's theological advisor, Father James Martin, S.J., noted that the novel is "maddeningly vague" but the film provides a "cleaner conclusion" that still leaves room for interpretation.

5. The Unseen Symbolism of the Final Shot

The very last shot of Silence provides a final, deeply ambiguous twist that is often missed by first-time viewers. After Rodrigues has lived out his life as a Japanese citizen, with a Japanese wife and children, and is buried according to Buddhist rites, his corpse is cremated. In the final, lingering close-up, a small, crudely made crucifix is seen clutched in his hand, hidden from the authorities.

This final image suggests that Rodrigues's apostasy was an external act only. Internally, he maintained his faith—or perhaps, he found a new, hidden form of Christianity that transcended the Western dogma he was forced to renounce. It is the ultimate statement on the theme of "hidden faith" versus "public performance" and is Scorsese's final, quiet answer to the film's central moral dilemma.

6. Andrew Garfield’s Method and Physical Transformation

To prepare for the physically and spiritually demanding role of Father Rodrigues, Andrew Garfield underwent an intense period of preparation. He spent time in a silent retreat, studied the Jesuit order, and lost a significant amount of weight to portray the starvation and suffering of a persecuted missionary.

Garfield’s commitment was mirrored by Adam Driver, who also lost a considerable amount of weight—reportedly over 50 pounds—to convincingly portray the physical toll of the journey and imprisonment in 17th-century Japan. This physical dedication by the two leads underscores the film’s commitment to realism and the severity of the historical setting.

7. The Sound Design: The Absence of Music

One of the most striking and intentional artistic choices in Silence is the near-total absence of a traditional orchestral score. The film’s "music" is the natural soundscape: the relentless noise of the cicadas, the crashing of the waves, the crackling of fire, and the cries of the tortured.

This choice was deliberate. By removing a conventional score, Scorsese forces the audience to experience the "silence" that Rodrigues perceives from God. The sound design thus becomes a central narrative element, emphasizing the isolation, the cultural alienation, and the profound void that the protagonist is struggling to fill with meaning and divine response. It is a masterful use of technical craft to enhance the film's deepest philosophical question.