| | | A Film by Philip Groning.
Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, English, Subtitled
Nestled deep in the postcard-perfect French Alps, the Grande Chartreuse is considered one of the world's most ascetic monasteries. In 1984, German filmmaker Philip Groning wrote to the Carthusian order for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him. Sixteen years later, they were ready. Groning, sans crew or artificial lighting, lived in the monks' quarters for six months--filming their daily prayers, tasks, rituals and rare outdoor excursions. This transcendent, closely observed film seeks to embody a monastery, rather than simply depict one--it has no score, no voiceover and no archival footage. What remains is stunningly elemental: time, space and light. One of the most mesmerizing and poetic chronicles of spirituality ever created, Into Great Silence dissolves the border between screen and audience with a total immersion into the hush of monastic life. More meditation than documentary, it's a rare, transformative theatrical experience for all.
"One of the transporting film experiences of this or any other year." Ty Burr, Boston Globe
"The silence captured in this documentary...may be the most eloquent you'll ever hear." Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
Editor's Note
INTO GREAT SILENCE fits neatly into the sub-category of films that need to be experienced rather than just watched. Over 162 minutes director Philip Groening films a group of monks who dwell in the Carthusian monastery of the Grande Chartreuse in the French Alps. The monks have taken a vow of silence, and live life at such a gentile pace that it took them 13 years to respond to Groening's request to make a film about them. The subjects of Groening's film fill their days with slow and highly repetitive routines, so the director shoots at a suitably slow pace, highlighting simple tasks such as praying, gardening, cooking, and doing laundry. Groening lived with the monks for four months and worked under strict conditions dictated to him by the order; no voiceover, music, or interviews were to be included in the film, and Groening was to be the sole crew member on the shoot. There are a couple of moments when Groening breaks with his modus operandi. He interviews an elderly blind monk, the Gregorian Chants practiced by the order occasionally feature, and the monks stage a snowball fight on one of their weekly breaks from the monastery. But the film is mostly comprised of a long, lonely trip into silence, and will doubtless leave its audience members in a contemplative and restful state of mind once the journey comes to a peaceful end.
| Features | Audio: French Dolby Digital Stereo | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: ZEITGEIST FILMS |
| Release Date: 10/23/2007 |
| Original Release Date: 2007 | | Catalog ID: 1094 | | UPC: 00795975109437 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: French | | Available Audio Tracks: French | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Frank Evers - Producer | | Michael Busch - Original Music By | | Michael Stricker - Executive Producer | | Philip Groning - Director | | Philip Groning - Writer | | Philip Groning - Original Music By | | Philip Groning - Cinematographer | | Philip Groning - Editor |
| Awards |
Winner (2006) | | | Sundance Film Festival, Philip Groning, Special Jury Prize - World Cinema - Documentary | |
Nominee (2006) | | | Sundance Film Festival, Philip Groning, Grand Jury Prize - World Cinema - Documentary |
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| | Professional Reviews | Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "INTO GREAT SILENCE hypnotically shows how its self-sufficient characters peacefully co-exist alongside nature." 02/01/2007 p.38Sight and Sound
"This is a film not about silence, but about the heightened perception that comes with a pure quality of attention." 02/01/2007 p.61-62 Entertainment Weekly
"The director, Philip Groning, orchestrates the monks' rituals into a gorgeous meandering trance..." -- Grade: B- 03/16/2007 p.49 Box Office
"[A] languid yet utterly captivating, documentary look inside a place of utter devotion." 04/01/2007 p.128 Reel.com 8 of 10
German director Philip Groning received permission several years ago to film a documentary inside the Grande Chartreuse--the head monastery, situated in the French Alps, of the centuries-old Carthusian order of monks. As the monks, founded by St. Bruno in 1084, are mostly silent--a conversational interlude is allotted weekly, for example--and live a cloistered existence, certain restrictions were imposed: Groning had to make his film without artificial lighting; without music (other than the monks' chanting of their daily offices) or outside commentary; without a crew...The film's pacing and its meditative, almost hypnotic quality are completely in fulfillment of Groning's intentions, not at all a failure to engage. Silence won't engage everyone, but it achieves its purpose. - Bonnie Fazio
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