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''Into Great Silence'' () is a 2005
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
directed by Philip Gröning. An
international co-production A co-production is a joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint vent ...
between France, Switzerland and Germany, it is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of
Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...
monks of the
Grande Chartreuse Grande Chartreuse () is the head monastery of the Carthusian religious order. It is located in the Chartreuse Mountains, north of the city of Grenoble, in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse (Isère), France. History Originally, the c ...
, a monastery high in the
French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...
(
Chartreuse Mountains The Chartreuse Mountains ( ) are a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble in the south to the Lac du Bourget in the north. They are part of the French Prealps, which continue as the Bauges to the north and ...
).


Production

Gröning proposed the idea for the film to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. They responded to him 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, and to stay in the
enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...
, where except for the order's aspirants no visitors are allowed, for a total of six months in 2002 and 2003. He filmed and recorded on his own, using no
artificial light Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...
. Afterwards, he 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, with occasional intertitles displaying selections from
Holy Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
.


Reception

The film has experienced a generally positive reception, with 89% of critics on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
responding with positive reviews in the T-metric section. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting listed ''Into Great Silence'' as one of the best ten films of 2007.Ten Best List for the Year 2007
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. The Carthusian monks themselves loved the film.


Awards

* ''Special Jury Prize'' at the 2006 Sundance Festival *
European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...
2006, Documentary – Prix Arte * Bavarian Film Award best documentary film, 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 A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
*
Monasticism Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...
*
Camaldoli Camaldoli () is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Poppi, in Tuscany, Italy. It is mostly known as the ancestral seat of the Camaldolese monastic order, originated in the eponymous hermitage, which can still be visited. The name was derived from ...
*
Desert Fathers The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Wadi El Natrun, then known as ''Skete'', in Roman Egypt, beginning around the Christianity in the ante-Nicene period, third century. The ''Sayings of the Dese ...


References


External links

*
Official web page

Slant Magazine Film Review by Keith Uhlich

U.S. distributor: Zeitgeist films – includes 12 page press kit, downloadable
{{Authority control 2005 films Sundance Film Festival award–winning films European Film Awards winners (films) Films about Catholicism Documentary films about Christianity Documentary films about spirituality Carthusian Order French documentary films Swiss documentary films German documentary films 2005 documentary films 2000s French films 2000s German films Films set in convents