Silence

Two 17th century Jesuit missionaries (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver) are smuggled into Japan to minister to local Catholics, who must worship in secret, and to learn the fate of a predecessor (Liam Neeson), who is said to have renounced the faith in the face of official persecution. Director Martin Scorsese and writer Jay Cocks realize a long-held ambition to adapt Shsaku End’s novel of faith tested in the fire. They may have been foolhardy in a business uncomfortable with religion in movies (unless demonic possession comes with it), or this may just be a movie ahead of its time. Anyhow, it’s a stately, loving, sincerely acted and exquisitely photographed (by Rodrigo Prieto) experience. It probably won’t make a dime, but Scorsese has nothing to apologize for—not to the ghost of End, and not to us. J.L.