Into Great Silence (2005) on Netflix
NR20052h 42mDocumentary
Carthusian monks live inside the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery in the French Alps, in an enclosure closed to visitors. A filmmaker records their life, alone and without artificial light.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb7.3/102,669 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes88%
Trailer
Plot summary
A Carthusian monastery, the Grande Chartreuse, stands high in the French Alps, and its monks live apart from the world. Visitors are not admitted to the enclosure, apart from those seeking to join the order. The community was first asked to allow a film to be made in 1984 and took sixteen years to answer, agreeing on condition that the request still held. A filmmaker then came to live among the monks, staying in the enclosure for six months across 2002 and 2003, filming and recording on his own without artificial light. Two and a half years went into the editing. The finished film carries no spoken commentary and no added sound effects; it offers images and sounds of monastic life, with passages from Holy Scripture shown occasionally as intertitles.
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Into Great Silence (2005)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director Philip Gröning proposed the film to the Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse in 1984, but they wanted time to think about it; they replied 16 years later, saying they would allow him to shoot if he was still interested.
- Gröning then came alone to live at the monastery for six months in 2002 and 2003, staying in the enclosure, which is closed to all visitors except the order's aspirants. He filmed and recorded on his own, using no artificial light.
Stills
Similar movies
