‘Silence’: Intense New Footage of Liam Neeson Debuts — Watch

Nearly three decades after Martin Scorsese first became interested in adapting Shūsaku Endō’s “Silence,” the director’s long-gestating passion project is finally arriving in theaters. In it, two young priests played by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver set sail from Portugal to Japan, where their mentor (Liam Neeson) is said to have apostatized. Paramount has just released a brief new trailer for the film, which you can find below.

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“I never knew Japan when it was a country of light,” intones Neeson as it opens, “but I have never known it to be as dark as it is now.” From there we’re treated to glimpses of 17th-century Japan as Scorsese envisions it in his difficult, rewarding film, with a focus on how perilous this quest is for those two men of the cloth — Christians were violently persecuted at the time. “I hope I have the strength for whatever awaits,” Garfield says.

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“Silence” opens in limited release on December 23 before going wide on January 13.