Martin Scorsese has been working on Silence—his adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s 1966 novel about Jesuit priests suffering a crisis of faith in 17th century Japan—for years now. (The script was reportedly completed back in 1996.) Now, we’re just a month out from the film’s premiere in Vatican City, which means its finally time to dive into the first trailer, and witness Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, and Andrew Garfield in all their shivering, priestly glory.
Fitting to the movie’s name, the trailer is light on dialogue, doing little more than establishing Driver and Garfield’s Heart Of Darkness-esque mission to travel to a foreign land and bring their mentor (Neeson) home. The soundtrack is ready to make up the sonic deficit, though, punctuating shots of penitent holy men and waterside crucifixions with harsh percussive beats.
Silence arrives in theaters on December 23.