Into Great Silence (2005) User Reviews

A long contemplative documentary on monastic life

[rasecz · 8/10 · 8 April 2006]

Winter, spring, summer, fall...and winter. No, this is not the quasi-eponymous Korean movie. It is the period of time over which the film was shot, around 2002. It is a documentary on the Grande Chartreuse cloister situated in a deep valley above the city of Grenoble, France. A couple of dozen monks live there. There are novices on probation and seniors long having made their vow of permanent ascetic life. The rhythm of their daily cloistered routines is the backbone of the film: frequent prayers, meals eaten alone in individual private apartments, execution of assigned chores, etc. From Monday to Saturday few words are exchanged. The only sounds are those of human movement, work activities, church bells and chirps from the surrounding forest. The only music to be heard is that of liturgical evening chants.

Not every aspect of monastic life is covered. As the director explains, this is not an informational film. It is a long contemplation on ascetic life. It may seem too long after two hours. The tedious repetitiveness is purposeful however. Even on-the-screen quotes are shown multiple times throughout the movie accentuating that repetitiveness. It is enough to convince us that it takes a special individual to commit to such constrained existence, one modulated only by the moods of the seasons. We are presented with snapshots of odd moments: monks frolicking in the snow; preparing a vegetable garden for spring seeding; a summer Sunday outing when monks are free to socialize and, on this day, they discuss the appropriateness of washing one's hands before meals (a contrarian monk has a simple solution: don't get your hands dirty).

Despite the isolation, there are signs the outside world is not too far. Fruits are served with supermarket produce number stickers still attached, correspondence and bills arrive and managed with a laptop computer (no evidence of an Internet connection), and some of the tools are distinctly modern.

It's a quiet film. Too long and soporific for some, possibly inspiring to others. What stayed with me after watching 162 minutes of this is the plain beauty of the cloister and the reminder of a life style that we may have thought extinct in the West.

Expect art, not a documentary

[fenella99 · 7/10 · 22 August 2006]

If you begin watching this film expecting an explanatory documentary about monastic life in La Grande Chartreuse, you may soon become bored and fed up. If you begin watching this film expecting to be taken into the monastic way of life, you will soon find yourself there. The movie takes the pace of the slow, quiet atmosphere of the monastery. Long periods of silence broken by the occasional creak of floorboards or chanting or bells, and very little dialogue. It is like each shot is a photograph. A moving photograph.

It is not entirely what one expects, however. Keep an eye out for the odd object seemingly out of place: the highlighter, the keyboard, the laptop; the odd conversation on a monk's departure for Seoul, South Korea; the shot of monks sliding down a snowy bank on their bums.

I wanted more explanation - how the individuals chose this way of life; how they sustain their community; what contact they have with secular people. But it is not that kind of documentary. As long as you're prepared for that, it is a film worth watching.

Fascinating if you get into it

[Andy-296 · 8/10 · 31 August 2006]

This almost silent three hour documentary tracks the daily lives of Carthusian monks living at the Chartreuse Monastery in the French Alps, as they live in a way that seems to be in such contrast with the modern world. It's a fascinating movie if you are able to get into the slow rhythm of the film (if you are still in the movie theater after an hour, you will probably made it to the third hour). By the same token, it would be almost impossible to see it in your house on DVD, since there are so many possible distractions that would make you want to stop the film. Remarkably, given that European filmmakers tend to be among the most secular people in the world, the movie is also surprisingly respectful of the choices made by the monks in living in this particular way.

Monks who live in silence share their quiet world with us.

[enorvind · 10/10 · 11 February 2006]

A sensitive and deeply moving film. We follow the life in silence of the monks in the Grande Chartreuse Monastery in the French Alps. Only once a week are the monks aloud to talk when they go for a walk in the woods or glide in the snow during winter. The photography is magnificent as the camera respectfully observes the monks quiet life of prayer and daily tasks. At certain intervals we see close-up of the monks whose faces impact us by simply being present. During two hours we become part of the monastery, the routines and the beauty of the mountains that surround us. After seeing fifty films at the Sundance Film Festival, this is the film that has stayed with me. The filmmaker waited 16 years before he got permission to shoot in the monastery and it was well worth waiting.

There are lots of interesting comments about this film on this site.

[imxo · 14 May 2007]

What a pleasant surprise to find such interesting comments about "Into Great Silence" ("Die Grosse Stille") on this site. Both those who value the film and those others who aren't impressed by it have contributed worthwhile and valuable comments.

Before I make some observations of my own I would like to recommend to those who intend to see this film that they see the film when fully alert - no heavy, drowse-inducing meal or drink; make sure your toilet needs are taken care of; etc. There were times during the film when I felt that catching 20 winks would do me more good than watching every frame of this slow film - but that's because I was tired and had had a huge meal only a few hours before. So, be prepared.

Concerning the desire to take a little nap during the film, even though I am not a religious person at all - but still know quite a bit about Catholicism - I had to recall Christ's admonishing Peter for not being able to stay awake with him in the Garden of Gethsemani. Watching those monks praying in the film I could only wonder how they could do it for a lifetime while I had to struggle to stay awake for only a couple of hours. It made me chuckle at how appropriate the comparison was. It also made me grin as I tried to figure out whether any particular monk was praying - or dozing.

As numerous reviewers here have noted, the film is almost a collection of stills (no pun intended), but stills which nevertheless have meaning, such as in a painting. For example, if you do not know that the candle in the small red glass holder hanging above the altar is the traditional way of indicating the presence in that place of the Holy Eucharist (for Catholics, the actual body of Christ) you won't understand why the film maker shows so many shots of it, even when it's flickering in the distance. Likewise, seeing a monk's cell if fine, but if you want to know more about it - and many other things, too - you might first want to read a book such as Nancy Klein Maguire's "AN INFINITY OF LITTLE HOURS", or visit the links on her web site, which provide many facts about the Carthusian way of life (including the petty problems that are blown up out of all proportion when such a small group of men live in such close proximity to each other.) It also may be that most viewers would not be aware that the film depicts not only the monk priests, but also the non-ordained working brothers - some of whom take vows, others of whom do not - who perform the monastery's manual labor.

Ultimately, though, I kept coming back to the question of whether or not such a strict monastic life was worth it; whether giving up the world in order to live in a cell and meditate and pray was anything other than the waste of a life. What if they are wrong about God?

I certainly recommend the film. See it when you're rested and wide awake.

You don't need to be religious

[valadas · 7/10 · 29 April 2011]

In fact you don't need to be religious to appreciate this good documentary movie about daily life of the monks in the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery near Grenoble in France. Their persons, activities and attitudes are shown and described through simple but meaningful and beautiful images with total realism and not intending to pass any religious or mystic message except those which result indirectly from the images themselves. The scenes of monastic life appear intermingled with wonderful views of landscape around the monastery in a counterpoint which underlines the communion between Nature and the monks' deep belief in God with whom they believe to be in permanent contact, in an atmosphere of full austerity and complete renunciation to corporeal and material goods. The movie's director had to wait for 17 years the grant of permission to make it but it was worth waiting. It's a splendid and true documentary indeed, filmed with great honesty and based almost exclusively upon meaningful images carefully chosen.

A brilliant exposition of law, truth (realism) and grace.

[harrysdixonjr · 10/10 · 25 June 2006]

If you want to see the contemplative, Roman Catholic view of Christ's teachings, this is for your. If you want to see a truly natural and realistic movie without artificial lighting (except the electric lights already at the monastery) this is for you. This movie is an absolute must for people who want to see what can been done just by taking a camera into the field and shooting. The message is simple and repeated over and over again because the contemplative life is simple and they spend their days trying to "grasp that which cannot be grasped": "Grace" and God. This movie is a must for those who think that Catholicism is too mystical. It clearly describes the simple beliefs of the contemplative life: that as one abandons one's attachments to things and the material world, one is seduced into the nirvana of religious enlightenment. During the final scene with the blind monk, an interesting comment is made on body sculpting, plastic surgery and other techniques that make one appear younger than one is. Incidentally, a Hindu or Buddhist would find the Christian view of nirvana described in this movie very interesting and the contemplative Christian path astonishingly similar to the contemplative Hindu and Buddhist paths.

Fascinating

[filmalamosa · 7/10 · 1 October 2012]

I think everyone is fascinated with totally different lives than our own but ones we too could have done.

This documentary tours the Chartreuse monastery where silence is required of the monks.

It is a voyeuristic look at people who have this faith and denied themselves a normal life. You search them for signs of distortion how could it not distort them.

It keeps and holds your interest and is more art than a documentary.

Highly recommend.

RECOMMEND

The importance of silence

[guruchi · 9/10 · 22 January 2006]

Very beautiful and original pictures in this movie. You can also enjoy such simple things as the sound of the snow falling or a scissors cutting a wool cloth...

In my opinion, the movie is not repetitious. I think the intention of the director is to introduce you in the monks' everyday life, and therefore you have to understand the routine and discipline they are attached to. It is just the silence that illuminates these people.

And I didn't know there were such really sweet monks in the catholic church!

At the cinema everybody were staying till the very end, although I have to say that someone was sleeping behind me ;-)

Hmmph.

[muzzle137 · 6/10 · 27 June 2007]

I couldn't quite make it through the whole movie. I loved the photography and cinematography, it was truly beautiful but the movie is essentially a parade of beautiful photographs and interesting characters . . . but it lasts 3 hours. To sit in a dark theater in silence for 3 hours is hardly possible.

Anyway, back to the good parts. I really enjoyed the approach the director took to explore each part of the monastery from the kitchen to the wardrobe. Although scenes at times are drawn out, the longer scenes do allow time to contemplate what you are actually looking at.

It would have been a wonderful documentary if you cut it by and hour or so.

Misleading Title

[michaelmccauley123 · 4/10 · 27 March 2007]

I saw "Into Great Silence" the other day. I was frustrated, in no small measure by its length. (DVT is a worrisome byproduct.) OK, to the degree that the film provoked me to think and question and puzzle about my frustration and the silent life of these monks, it succeeded. But, I'm not convinced it's an important contribution to any deeper understanding of the solitude and great silence that is the life force of Grande Chartreuse. And that, I feel, is a failing.

On reflection, solitude is what this "meditation" is attempting to get at. Yes, silence is key to solitude. But the title of the film misleads. And because there is no attempt to explain the Carthusian vocation/way of life, viewers are left to learn this on their own. In the end, the film short-changes viewers … and the monks. It's way too personal to have the impact that the filmmaker apparently intended. Understanding monastic life, especially early in the 21st century, would be a welcome antidote to the barrage of messages, sounds, and images that assault us daily. But this film misses the mark. So, I'm not ungrateful … just disappointed.

You will find your way both to and into this film on your own

[Michael Fargo · 9/10 · 17 March 2007]

I've often pondered which sense would I rather lose: sight or hearing. I had decided sight would be the one to live without since music has the power to make me weep (often). But "Die Große Stille" has made me rethink all of that. It's a pointless game anyway, but I reexamined the importance of sound in my life versus the magnificent, ravishing images put forth in this film.

Like the works of Frederick Wiseman, it's less a work of cinema than a window that Gröning offers. We watch seemingly arbitrary action both mundane and ecstatic. We're not "told" who these people are as individuals nor why they have chosen to wall themselves off from the world's joy and suffering. But as we watch, the pace of the film is slowed so that we enter this world and test our own thoughts about human contact as well as faith. But only if you're so inclined. There's no proselytizing.

At one point late in the film one monk chides the world for living without God, and you immediately think, "How would YOU know?" And immediately we see the value of silence. In silence we don't argue or plead, complain or preach. We simply live with our thoughts, and here the brothers seem very comfortable with whatever it is they are thinking.

Through repetition and ceremony, we enter the serenity these men have found. And while there's beauty in the physical aspects of both the natural world in its changing seasons as well as the cloistered setting, it's the tranquil beauty of faces that rivet. We meet them as individuals only in a series of live portraits where their eyes stare into the lens, through the camera, and into our souls. If I didn't have my sight, I would have missed that and been lesser for it.

For me, this was an amazing experience. But for others in the theater it was tough evidenced by squirming and the occasional snore. Surprisingly, it was the younger members of the audience who seemed most entranced.

Filmmaker's Purpose

[gentendo · 6/10 · 21 November 2007]

I believe the director's purpose in making this documentary was for a multiplicity of reasons. One in which was to reflect on the beauty and simplicity of an exceptional culture and in the process exalt the everyday. Another reason was to know that God is by stilling the soul with silence and pondering upon his words, as demonstrated in one of the explicit scriptures shown: "Allow the stillness to enter in and know that he is." The following evidence will support both efforts made by the director.

Whereas most Hollywood or even some independent films make their aim at reaching a conclusion (often called a climax, or resolution), Into Great Silence is not concerned about reaching any destination. It is simply about process and duration. It is concerned with becoming an observer—one who simply watches like a fly on the wall all of the events, activities, and services made explicit in the lives of real people. These people are not actors—they do not live anywhere near the limelight. They are ordinary yet unique individuals that live extraordinary lives. The camera work helps reflect this extraordinary realism by persisting with long and sometimes tedious shots of the monks going about their daily activities. The lighting is rather significant too. There are no stage light set-ups—simply all-natural. This choice by the director not only helps eliminate the man-made constructs of artificial lighting, but invites the viewer to become further absorbed in God's light—the only natural light there is.

The simplicity of each shot sometimes seems mundane, but then again, so is real life from time to time. There is a beautiful sequence captured of rain pouring into an open puddle outside that helps the viewer appreciate the simple yet profound beauties of the earth. An editing choice of minimal ellipsis portrays the time elapsed from season to season as well. This preference helped exalt the seasons we often take for granted and gave reason to why we ought to praise God for creating such amazing sights to behold.

This idea leads to the next purpose of why the filmmaker undertook this project. The idea of God being found in the silence of nature is extremely important throughout the film. In fact, about 90% of it is silent. It begins with a renowned scripture found in the book of 1Kings, which reads something to the effect like, "And the earthquake rent the mountain in twain, but God was not in the earthquake. Then came the fires but God was not in the fire. And then came the winds but God was not in the wind. And after all this came a still small voice, even the Holy Ghost." The idea of the Holy Ghost (God's voice) being represented as a still small voice gives definition to what this film is all about. Whereas the world would demand an astonishing vision or mind-blowing miracle to be converted to God's existence, the monks realized that it is in the depths of silence and solitude that God's spirit is able to commune with an open mind. The world, as is, is ridiculously noisy and hustled. The monks desire to retreat from it demonstrates their willingness to search after and discover God, as illustrated in another scripture shown: "You shall seek me with all your heart and I will allow myself to be found." An interesting symbol used in the film that brings out the idea of finding God in silence is portrayed through the use of the red candle burning brightly in the darkness. This image repeats itself multiple times to teach the viewer of the importance of being a light/influence unto a world of darkness. I believed this was to show how the silence of one's presence can strangely attract the mind of a darkened sinner. It is not through lip service that a person will be converted unto God, but through the actions one takes by being who they are—as reflected through the silence and lives of these diligent monks.

What's the Point?

[TheExpatriate700 · 4/10 · 18 January 2010]

I may just be a philistine, but this examination of the lives of European monks ultimately struck me as pointless. The film simply follows the monks through their daily routines, without any back story on the individual monks or narration to give viewers any context. Occasionally, quotes from the Bible will appear on the screen, with the same quotes repeating frequently and offering no real insight into what is going on.

To a certain extent, the film assumes either a familiarity with Catholic belief, or an overall sympathy with the contemplative way of life. To someone who does not embrace a mystical outlook, the film will come across as alien, or an exercise in boredom.

This is not to say the film is without its good points. The cinematography is superb, capturing the breathtaking beauty of the Alps. However, this is ultimately not worth watching a nearly three hour film.

Excellent. If you are a meditator or spiritually inclined, you should enjoy.

[MrMichaelPWorldwide · 10/10 · 20 January 2006]

I am glad that I saw Die Grosse Stille. It was deeply touching. The silence somehow allowed one to witness the deeply private lives and experiences of these meditators. I saw this film a few days before. My girlfriend wanted dearly to see it but I had been put off by some critical comments posted on these pages. I am glad that I overcame my doubts. The views of both the inside of the monastery and the outer surroundings enhanced the feelings of the 'separateness'of the mountainside retreat. I have been a meditator for quite a few years and I lived among the Tibetan communities in India for some years. There also one can find a 'Great Stillness'. Are you prepared to set aside conventional standards and expectations of a film 'experience'? If 'yes,', then I recommend this film to you.

Profound meditation or mere navel-gazing?

[Buddy-51 · 6/10 · 9 November 2008]

What's this? A two-hour-and-forty-one-minute long documentary on an order of monks who have taken a vow of silence - a film almost completely devoid of speech and musical accompaniment and fully devoid of narration? How audacious a concept is that?!

"Into Great Silence" focuses on some Carthusian monks who reside at the Grande Chartreuse Monastery tucked away in a remote corner of the soaring French Alps. With rare exceptions, all we hear for the duration of the movie are natural sounds (birds chirping, water dripping, leaves rustling, feet shuffling, brooks babbling), the tolling of bells, and the signing of Latin hymns. We watch as the monks go through their well-oiled rituals of meditation, prayer and daily chores. With the visuals having to carry so much of the weight of the film, I'm happy to report that the imagery is often quite stunning, resembling nothing less than beautifully composed landscapes and warmly-lit still-lifes brought to sudden life. And, at times, "Into Great Silence" serves as a welcome balm to our aching ears which seem to be under almost constant assault from the cacophony of the modern world.

Yet, just how "great" you'll feel the silence is may depend on whether you view cloistering itself as the ultimate act of piety, devotion and self-denial, or as an act of cowardice and selfishness, giving a person permission to retreat from the harsh realities of life and to relinquish all personal responsibility for making the world a better place in which to live. It may take a special person to be both willing and able to shun so much of the pointless jabbering that consumes our lives on a daily basis, but there's still something to be said for being a part of the one species on the planet that is able to truly engage one another through our speech and words. That seems, somehow, too precious a gift to be traded in so cheaply for a trouble-free life.

"Into Great Silence" is certainly not for all audiences, and it does go on way too long, no doubt about that. Some viewers will find the movie refreshing and therapeutic, while others will be driven out of their skulls with boredom. To be honest, I had a little of both reactions while watching the film. Congratulate yourself on your enlightenment and superhuman patience if you find yourself thoroughly entranced by the experience, but there's no real reason to feel like a Philistine if you don't.

Grace makes little noise

[za-andres · 10/10 · 25 March 2007]

In 1984, novice filmmaker Philip Gröning asked the Carthusian monks of the Grand Chartreuse if he could film them. They said it was too soon, and thus, 16 years later, Gröning received a call: they were ready. A sublime mix of transcendence and cinéma vérité, the result, Into Great Silence, is a masterful trip inside the monastery, a 162 minute voyage that spellbinds, entrances, and makes you become one with the film itself.

Filming by himself on hi-definition video and Super 8 for only a few hours a day, using only available light and sound, Gröning was required to live and work among the monks, both observing them and becoming one with them. He structures the film in an unscathed and natural way, both accurately capturing the monks' daily routines yet also flowing by seasons. Each season has its own pleasures, which range from the playful walks of the monks in spring and summer to the moody yet harmonious mise-en-scene of the winter. Sublime to its very hushed core, Into Great Silence does take some getting used to, specifically because the monks hardly utter a word; the beginning of the film is a four minute opening shot of a monk praying in his solitary room. It is after this, however, that the film resembles true life itself: rarely have documentaries portrayed such an unhurried sense of time, yet all of the film passes faster than you wish it to, each minute counting to the very last.

Gröning's masterful shots of the Grand Chartreuse are let alone one reason that elates the film, yet more than a placed and planned camera, the shots almost resemble spying. It is undeniably true, as weird as it may sound, that the monks have gotten used to the camera. Months go on, and they blatantly ignore it, which only goes for the better. In what follows, Gröning takes us through more than just the random praying of the monks, but also of them playing (there's a scene of the monks going sledding), cooking, eating and sewing, all daily activities of the monks (excluding the playing aspect.) One need not be religious, or even agree with the existence of god and the fact of locking oneself in a monastery, to enjoy a film of this caliber. Nevertheless, Gröning has created a film of its kind: the type that will keep you thinking and enjoying its quiet pleasures—only through simple images—for a long time, yet also one that could gratify film lovers without a limit to its quiet sense of aptness.

an experience more than a movie

[augustodunensis · 9/10 · 1 October 2006]

When you're going to see 'Into great Silence', do bear in mind that is is a nearly three hour documentary about a hermit order. Don't expect anything sensational. The life of these monks isn't sensational. It's quiet. It's about small things and a lot of prayer. Furthermore it is a good idea to read up a little, find some information about the Cartusians and their way of life. The film itself will not give much facts and figures about its subject matter - it's an experience more than a film. But when you do have the right frame of mind, an open and patient mind, you're in for something extraordinary.

Although the Cartusians have the reputation of being the most strickt and austere of religious orders, I was pleasantly surprised by the 'lightness' of the film. One one hand there is the silence and the long hours of prayer and labour. One the others hand there's the cats, the cows, the Sunday afternoon conversations and the snowy slopes ideal for sliding down on your bum. Both sides of the monks life are being presented with pleasant serenity.

These men are happy, you can tell. And I was happy when I left the cinema these afternoon.

A great opportunity botched

[somerandomtag · 3/10 · 30 November 2005]

I went into this movie expecting to be mesmerized and left it feeling thoroughly disappointed and annoyed. According to the synopsis, the movie is supposed to show rhythms, the flow of time, the change of seasons, and more. If this is the goal, then it fails badly: Watching the movie, one gets the impression that the seasons at La Grande Chartreuse are winter, spring, early summer, and winter. This is unsurprising since most of the shooting occurred in the spring and summer of 2002, but I still felt cheated when there was no autumn between early summer and winter. As for rhythms, I never really got into the groove because the pacing seemed haphazard; the slow flow of the daily routine of the monks kept getting interrupted by time-lapse shots of sunrises and sunsets that always threw me off (this may be a matter of taste, though).

Other aspects of the movie confirm this general sense of half-bakedness. For instance, we meet two novices who are introduced into the monastery, but we don't find out whether they actually go on to become full members. We see a gardener sowing some seeds, but we don't see the harvest. We see other activities (cooking, sewing garments) in their early stages, but we don't see them come to fruition. The absence of the time of harvest is so pervasive throughout the movie that I'm wondering whether it's intentional. I don't see what purpose this might serve, though.

Finally, I feel that the movie does a disservice to the monks it portrays. They have to stare into the camera a lot, and most of them come across as an insecure, fidgety bunch. Few of them exhibit the sort of serenity you'd expect from someone who's living a life of silent contemplation. I figure that they are merely being self-conscious because they are not used to being on camera, but it still seems to me that the director should have found a way of making them feel at ease.

Summing up, the director took a great idea (a silent meditation on the life of Carthusian monks) and a great opportunity (a filming permit at La Grande Chartreuse), and he botched it. Too bad.

One of a Kind Documentary

[budking90057 · 10/10 · 24 August 2006]

This movie provides a real escape from the routine drivel we see coming from Hollywood.

Yes, the movie is over 2 hours in length and there is very little dialog. One really wouldn't expect much dialog from a Religious Order, like these Carthusians, who observe silence whenever and wherever possible. These Hermit/Monks are not walking through their Cloister with Stereo Earphones, while their cowled heads bob up and down in rhythm with the latest HIP-HOP Beat!! If one does his homework PRIOR to viewing this movie, they will know that it IS A RELIGIOUS DOCUMENTARY dealing with the daily life of the Hermit/Monks in the Roman Catholic Church's strictest Order.

Time has practically stood still for the Hermit/Monks of this Monastery - the Motherhouse of the Carthusian Order - LE GRANDE CHARTREUSE.

In a World filled with noise, distractions, violence, and insecurity, sitting for a few hours and enjoying the Carthusian Life-style is a breath of very fresh air.

This Documentary offers that rare glimpse into a very obscure and hidden Religious Order.

Hopefully the DVD of this masterpiece will be released soon in the U.S.A. It will make a wonderful companion to Nancy Klein Maguire's Book: "AN INFINITY OF LITTLE HOURS".

The endless movie...

[olixgam-3 · 2/10 · 6 December 2005]

The director managed to create a 2 1/2 hour movie that radiates the boredom of 6 months and feels like ten hours. The one good thing I can say is that it made me lose track of time completely. I almost expected to see daylight upon leaving the cinema. And it had started at 7pm...

It was not what I expected. But what did I expect? Maybe some work of art like Koyaanisqatsi, where one can lose himself in the rhythm and the pictures. But this movie here does have no rhythm. And for the content - I know not more or less than before, the life depicted in there coming very close to what I would have expected it to be, anyway. How do they live? I still don't know for sure, because the movie jumps wildly from scene to scene without enabling me to see a pattern. Yes, there is work and there is prayer and even a monk with an IBM Laptop doing the book-keeping (?), but I totally failed to get the big-picture. And that was, more or less, what I had expected when I bought the ticket.

And no, just because there are some blurred close-ups this movie is not necessarily a work of art.

But hey, the critics love it, so go see it and judge for yourself.

Bare contemplation

[Chris Knipp · 8/10 · 29 March 2007]

If you can sit still for the nearly three hours of this film, it's almost guaranteed to bring down your heart rate, maybe make you want to spend more time in the high mountains or in the snow or contemplating spring flowers in some isolated place. Into Great Silence (Die Große Stille) is a documentary of unusual austerity and beauty, like La Grande Chartreuse itself, the Carthusian order's central monastery high in the French Alps that German filmmaker Philip Gröning has recorded. His film is steeped in a unique atmosphere; there is no narration. To have provided any would have interrupted the prevailing silence that is characteristic of the place. This method -- the withholding of all commentary -- can work fine for a documentary, especially where there is a lot of dialogue, as in the recent, highly admired Iraq in Fragments; or where the activities shown are familiar, such as the classroom scenes so meticulously filmed in Être et avoir (To Be and to Have), an un-narrated chronicle of a rural French elementary school. But lovely and calming as Into Great Silence is, it preserves the atmosphere at the cost of failing to penetrate its subjects' inner lives. How well can we ever understand spirituality? But above all, how well can we understand it from visuals, without any words describing the inner experience?

There are other specifics that Gröning, who was forced to work virtually alone and without any artificial light, chooses not to detail. A monk's life is rigorously organized, but here that schedule isn't specified. Editing flits about arbitrarily between shots of monks praying alone or in the chapel, external landscape shots; shots of wood being chopped, food being prepared or delivered to cells, snow being shoveled, robes being made, heads being shaved, books being read at cell desks. And there's an initiation ritual, plain chants, poetically blurry close-ups of candle flames or fruit. There's even a moment of laughter and high spirits when a group of younger monks slide down a hillside in the snow (in their boots, without skis or snowboards). Bells sound, and the monks bustle about from one activity to another, but according to what system is left to the imagination. In one shot a monk sits in front of a big desk strewn with bills and documents. He just stares at them. What does it mean? Several times the succession of scenes is interrupted with a short series of shots of individual monks staring into the camera, wordlessly, of course. There is one long shot of a monk who may be dying. He too stares into the camera. These moments are rather spooky. Despite the presence of prescription eyeglasses, shoe goo, electricity for lights and an electric razor in the "Razora" room -- even, despite wood stoves in the cells, the sighting of a single radiator -- the place has a thoroughly medieval feel, and that's spooky too. Every so often in large letters there is a saying of Jesus, such as "He among you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple," flashed in French on the screen, as in a silent film, and these are repeated, randomly. But again, is this randomness appropriate in depicting a life that is anything but haphazard in its structure?

After an hour the film shows that the monks, though they lead daily lives that are silent and isolated except for chapel services, do also get together on Sundays for a communal meal followed by a walk and a chat, rain or shine. When given this opportunity, they don't analyze the world situation. They discuss minutiae of the order's regulations. Later, a blind old monk with impressive down-drooping eyebrows is the only one to address the camera directly. He speaks of blindness and death, describing both as welcome gifts from God, one received, another still to come.

There is a significant omission. This place, begun in the early eleventh century, rebuilt in the seventeenth, produces a famous liqueur whose sale supports it; but we don't see the monks doing this work. Gröning says the process is too complicated and would distract from the rest. Distract from what? From the effect he wants to create; not from a picture of what the place is about.

Gröning underlines the uniquely rare opportunity he's sharing with us by explaining at the end that he asked for permission to film in 1984, but was held off from doing so till 2000. Maybe he thought since he had to wait so long, he should make a long film. But the extra time doesn't mean deeper insight. At most it is the prolongation of a mood. Rather it seems an outgrowth of the random editing system, an unwillingness or inability to cut or to organize. Off-putting and tight-lipped though this film is, it will no doubt stand as one of the more distinctive of recent documentaries. But it inspires as much irritation as reverence. It's not utterly clear that Gröning is the ultimate guide to this world -- or to any world, for that matter.

There are many paradoxes and ambiguities in a monastic existence. The Carthusian order is austere. Its life is one of renunciation and penitence. In this austerity there is a certain luxury. The monks choose it willingly. If they can stick with it (many apparently don't), it is what they want, an ideal setting for the uninterrupted contemplation of God. And it is a peaceful life, a safe life, a life cut off from the worries of cities and families and all uncertainty. Monks don't prepare their weekday meals in their cells any more; they're brought on a cart. Bare and spare and strict though it is, La Grande Chartreuse is in some sense the most spectacular of grand hotels.

Lord You Have Seduced Me, And I Was Seduced!

[sabrinazGem77 · 8/10 · 13 March 2007]

I've just awakened from a beautiful dream. Before I slept I came from an Italian restaurant in which I was with my business manager and we talked about various subjects and we gossiped about our personal lives and feasted upon a sumptuous meal. Before we went to that Italian restaurant we were in Santa Monica's Nuart Theater and feasted upon a very poetic, mesmerizing, entrancing, seductive and breathtaking film.

INTO GREAT SILENCE is not for the popcorn flick fan. If you're into blockbusters and that's your taste then you probably won't like this film. You must be a staunch art house film-goer. You must be a sophisticated film watcher to truly appreciate this film. Your taste level for film must be at a higher level to enjoy this film with little ease. But if you're not any of those and you surrender to this film you will have no doubt a poetic, mesmerizing, hypnotic, sensual, introspective and breathtaking experience.

As the story goes, in the early 1980s Philip Groning contacted the Roman Catholic Monks of the Carthusian Order, which was founded in 1084 by St. Bruno of Cologne. The Carthusian Order is reportedly one of the strictest orders of the Roman Catholic church. Although they don't take a vow of silence, the Monks speak only when absolutely necessary and once weekly on walks outside their monastery. The Monks told Groning it was premature and that they would contact him when the time was right. They got back to him nearly a decade and a half and told him they were ready. He was told that only he could enter the monastery and that he could only use natural light. He was also told that there be no musical score or soundtrack. And on top of all that he was told that there would be no interviews and commentaries. With all those restrictions, however, Philip Groning says that those did not affect his intentions for the film. So he spent several months living, working, and filming over 120 hours of life in the French Alps in the Great Charterhouse of the Carthusian Order.

"Lord you have seduced me, and I was seduced." I wouldn't call INTO GREAT SILENCE a documentary, because the film INTO GREAT SILENCE is an experience. It plays on every sense and it entrances you into using your intangible senses as well. It lives up to its name as there is hardly any dialogue and interviews. And there are absolutely no commentaries and voice-overs. You don't hear a human voice until 20 minutes into the film. But the rare human voice in the film makes you appreciate the sounds of nature that surround that quiet place in the French Alps. You experience the poetry of the sound of the snow falling, melting, and dripping. The sound of bells tolling and rain dropping creates a melody. And the sound of Monks footsteps are like a serenade. But the Gregorian chants sung by these Monks are so hypnotic, haunting, and entrancing that it seduces you to surrender to their world.

And the film supplies a cinematic visual buffet. This film must be seen on the big screen. There is not one single frame in the film that can't be a featured photograph in some art museum. Every shot stimulates the eye, which in turn stimulates your heartbeat to a rhythm, which makes your body participate in that GREAT SILENCE. The occasional flashes of Bible verses, "Lord you have seduced me, and I was seduced" and "Anyone who does not give up all he has cannot be my disciple." Create a time of pause for one to reflect.

The narrative of the film follows several Monks. One of them an African novice who gives up everything he has to join the order. Another, a young Monk who has given up everything he owns and is new to the order. But how much did they really give up? We are reminded of the outside world by a single airliner flying above. And to contrast the silence of the Monks we glimpse tourists or pilgrims from afar. The film also follows an elderly Monk who takes care of the garden and grounds and a blind elderly Monk at the end of his life. When one watches these Monks and is drawn into their life one sees the "joyfulness" of their penitence. The rhythm of their life is as entrancing as the Gregorian chants they sing. The peaceful serenity of their world and surroundings does indeed seduce one.

The film does not aim to preach or teach. The film entrances you to experience the world of these Monks as they honestly are. Weather you agree with them or not one sees the sincerity of their prayer, work, mass, rituals, and meal as poetic innocence. One cannot help but experience personal joy as these Monks slide down snowy slopes with their shoes. And while these Monks do give up everything they own, the nature that surrounds them are so breathtakingly priceless that one longs to stay in that peaceful serene place in the French Alps.

INTO GREAT SILENCE is indeed a cinematic experience much more than a film documentary for entertainment or educational purposes. The almost three hours of rare dialogue had a very loud and clear point of view. This is how the Monks gave up everything so that they can be God's disciples. And this is how God seduced them and why they are seduced. This is the world of the Monks of the Carthusian Order. The almost three hours, although slow, were needed so that one could immerse in those French Alps with those faithful Monks. And admittedly in the later part of the almost three hour film I was fidgeting. But when it was done. I had wanted to experience it all over again. "Lord you have seduced me, and I was seduced."

Hooked and Converted (almost)

[Chirpy_Chaffinch · 10/10 · 22 February 2007]

I always wanted to know what Monasteries are like. Quiet, Peaceful places of Contemplation and Compassion? And in today's time where almost everybody writes a book about almost everything, it shouldn't be a problem to find out. But I had no luck so far; until I have seen this movie (it's really a documentary).

This movie was shot on a single small camera (I'm no expert) using the light that was available at location. Some of the shots are very grainy (see above, I'm no expert), those make a very dramatic effect. And apparently, it took 16 years for the monks to grant the filmmaker permission to film. And even then, only on his own, no artificial lights.

The film has almost no dialogue (no need to learn Latin to understand the movie) and is almost 3 hours long. The camera freezes on a certain scene (like somebody in prayer) and stays there for a few minutes and then it goes to a different scene. I was especially impressed by the recording of the changes in the seasons. The beautiful location somewhere in France is highly suitable for that type of movie. Large amounts of snow followed by birdsong and lots of greenery in summer. Combine that with a tremendous ability by the filmmaker to compose the pictures and you are in for sensational treat.

But it doesn't stop there, for the film takes you into the Monastery,i doesn't look in from the outside, it tries to look in from the inside. This is not a documentary telling us "How to be a Monk in 10 easy to follow steps". It rather explores the silence and the solitude. One of the repeated shots is of a red candle flickering inside a glass, no noises whatsoever, just the red glow using a tele lens. Other shots are of monks in deep prayer or engaged in their other activities.

The film doesn't explain why these people choose to live a life like that. Nor does it explain the level of self-sufficiency. But what it does explain is the material sacrifice and the related spiritual freedom.

I know that I am not the only one in today's society to suffer from the stresses of 21-first century life and the constant noises of our cities. And probably from the breakdown of moral and ethical values in our society. I admire the monks that they are able and committed to that kind of life. It certainly appears to be a lot more difficult than to choose which TV channel to switch on (or other mundane tasks).

I always considered going into monastery as a step too far. Not anymore now, but I fear it is still a step too big for me.

A final note: this movie lasts for about 3 hours, and it is a very encouraging way to assess your levels of patience and consideration, and several people walked out when I watched it. But the reward is exceptional, I came out a slightly different person. And even if you are not interested in Religion or Monasteries, the photographic value of this movie is more than anything I have ever seen before. The shot selection and composition is outstanding !

Germany's worst home video

[August1991 · 1/10 · 5 January 2007]

Your friend goes to Bulgaria on a holiday and visits a monastery in the Rhodopi mountains. So enamoured with the monastery's quiet beauty, your friend films endless walks down corridors and close-ups of candles burning in the sacristie. Like most home videos, there is no commentary, no editing, shots wobble, frequently out of focus, and low light causes grainy images.

Your friend's video would be better than "Into Great Silence" because no friend would make you sit through three hours of a bad holiday video.

If people say that this movie provides a glimpse into a different lifestyle, do not believe them. If you want to understand monastic life, kneel for three hours on a stone floor instead - and keep your eyes closed. This movie pretends to be insightful but it's not. Some may find God in silence but if you haven't found God yet, you are unlikely to find the Supreme Being sitting comfortably in a cinema seat for three excruciatingly boring hours.