Into Great Silence is must-see Catholicity that peers into the lives of the Carthusian monks of La Grande Chartreuse. This movie deeply resonates with the sounds of the sacred and the cycles of nature whose still small voice speaks volumes through this intimate portrait of men who are called to serve God in a unique way.
Life in this charterhouse, nestled deep in the French Alps, is imbued with the sacred rhythms of the Divine Office. We are brought back again and again into chapel by ringing of the bell and by candlelight glimpse into the Liturgy of the Hours and the chants that reside as heartbeats within each monk. These are lives lived in silence and solitude but we see too their daily dedication to ora et labora and to their community in Sunday meals and recreation.
On the film's website, Philip Groning discussed how he shot the film: living in a cell and carrying on the highly structured daily routine in addition to shooting with minimal equipment and natural lighting. "My main effort actually consisted in avoiding cliches and not shooting the types of scenes that we expect from our view of monastic life," Groning said.
Into Great Silence played at the Seattle International Film Festival last year. It's showing again at the Varsity Theatre in the U-District for one week only beginning March 30.
