Thursday, December 13, 2007

Into Great Silence


Quote of the day:
“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”
--Soren Kierkegaard

When we received “Into Great Silence” from Netflix, I wondered when I’d be in the mood to watch it. I knew it had very little dialog, and I expected to fall asleep about 10 minutes in.

So we planned to watch it as early in the evening as we could.

But then many evenings went by. Although this movie has been critically praised, I secretly expected to bored out of my ever-loving skull.

I mean, c’mon, a movie about a silent order of monks in the French mountains? To top it off, I read the Netflix envelope. It’s two hours and forty minutes long. Oh....my....God.

Is there a rerun of “Beverly Hills Cop” on cable tonight?

But sometimes things don’t turn out the way I expect them to.

This is a captivating and involving film, from the start. Its authenticity has something to do with this. There’s nothing like being in a cell with a monk in prayer. Or in the very old chapel with a single candle burning and chant rising and falling.

Filmmaker Philip Groning became part of the life of the Grand Chartreuse monastery for a few hours each day for many months. He filmed unobtrusively, using only natural light.

We are privileged to witness silent daily activities--sewing, cooking, gardening, eating, ringing bells, bookkeeping and attending to resident animals. We don’t get to witness the making of Chartreuse liqueur.

This is not a “Christian” film, or an explicitly religious one. It is about as close as anyone can get to a pure documentary. We see and hear what goes on--nothing more, nothing less.

I was sorry to see it end. I wanted more.

“Into Great Silence” is an excellent movie to make time for right now--if you are hungry for some counterbalance to the near-frenzied consumption of the holiday season.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Green Chartreuse ... my bride claims that it taste like "Evening in Paris" (as if she ever drank EIP; she says her nose knows).

It awakens my esophagus the way I like my theology.

You tweaked my interest.

JiJo

Craig Dorval said...

Monks are responsible for some tasty stuff! Good to hear your theology is awakened.

Craig

Anonymous said...

I saw this movie at the Ken Theater when it was first released and I’m sure I recommended it to you. As you say it is not boring or tedious to watch this. The silence and stillness have a life of their own and fill your soul. It made me think of a comment made by one of my favorite writers, Kathleen Norris (author of Dakota a Spiritual Geography and The Cloister Walk), in relating her experience of silence as she began her spiritual journey as an oblate in a Benediction Monastery: “I felt as if I were breathing deeply for the first time in my life.” This is as near as I can remember, it is not an exact quote.
I have never tasted Green Chartreuse. From what information I can find out about it there are only three monks who have the formula (one third to each) and they are bound by a vow of silence (but of course). Did you notice how happy those monks seemed in spite of their their austere life. Near the end of the movie where you are given a close up of the faces of the individual monks in turn I was sure the one was going to break out into a smile. Maybe now we know the secret.

Craig Dorval said...

Hi Lynda--Indeed, we saw this film on your recommendation. You're right that the faces sequence is very telling. I thought it was very interesting that I could see a difference between the novitiate and the experienced monks. There is great serenity and centeredness there. It doesn't have to be proclaimed or shouted about. It's just there.

Kathleen Norris is terrific. She's done a huge amount to bring true understanding of contemplatives to contemporary America.

the Ken is coming up in the world. Last time we were there, the manger itroduced the film and welcomed us. He said it is the last single-screen theatre in San Diego County. It's fun to see a movie in an actual neighborhood, instead of at a mall.