Into Great Silence

This article is about 2005 documentary film. For the similarly-named 1968 Spaghetti Western film, see The Great Silence.

Into Great Silence
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed by	Philip Gröning
Music by	monks of the Grande Chartreuse
Distributed by	Zeitgeist Films
Release dates	2005 UK 29.12.06
Running time	162 min.

Into Great Silence (German: Die große Stille) is a documentary film directed by Philip Gröning that was released in 2005. It is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains).

Production

The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. They responded to Gröning 16 years later to say they were willing to permit him to shoot the movie if he was still interested. Gröning then came alone to live at the monastery, where no visitors were ordinarily allowed, for a total of six months in 2002 and 2003. He filmed and recorded on his own, using no artificial light. Gröning then spent two and a half years editing the film. The final cut contains neither spoken commentary nor added sound effects. It consists of images and sounds that depict the rhythm of monastic life, interspersed with placard-like selections from Holy Scripture.

Reception

The film has experienced generally laudatory reception, with 89% critics responding with positive reviews at T-metric section of Rotten Tomatoes and a "certified fresh" rating. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting listed Into Great Silence as one of the best ten films of 2007. The Carthusian monks themselves loved the film.

Awards

• Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Festival.
• European Film Awards 2006, Documentary - Prix Arte
• Bavarian Film Award best documentary film on Friday, 13. January 2006
• Film Award of the German Association of Film Critics, best documentary film, 2006
• Film Award of the German Film Critics, best documentary film, 2006
• Film Award German Camera, best camera in a documentary film, 2006
• Jury Film Award for the best documentary film in the international festival contest of São Paulo / Rio de Janeiro
• International Ennio Flaiano Award of Pescara in Italy for best camera and best film

See also

• Hermit
• Monasticism
• St. Bruno, the founder of the Carthusian Order
• Cistercians (another monastic order which practices silence)
• Desert Fathers

External links

• Into Great Silence at IMDb
• Into Great Silence at AllMovie
• Official web page
• Slant Magazine Film Review by Keith Uhlich
• U.S. distributor: Zeitgeist films - includes 12 page press kit, downloadable