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Mar
30
Into Great Silence
March 30, 2007 |
Zeitgeist Films presents a documentary directed and written by Philip Groning. In French and Latin with English subtitles. Filmmaker Philip Groning spent six months living among the monks of the Grand Chartreuse Charterhouse in the French Alps for his documentary “Into Great Silence.” The filmmaker was granted unprecedented permission to film in 2002. This was not given lightly, for his request was put forth to the prior sixteen years earlier.
This is cinema at its purest and most exalted. It is hard to place into words a film, which is wrought in silence. For 162-minutes you will be allowed a glimpse of the ascetic strictness of the monks. I do not see this as a documentary, but an immersion into an entire way of life that will have no voiceovers or explanations. Just a small part of our time spent in transcendent meditation on the human pursuit of meaning, on man as a religious and social creature, on the form and function of symbols, ritual and traditions. And on the rhythms of work and prayer, night and day, winter and spring.
It is a beautiful film where everyone will take away something different and hopefully fulfilling. The film will not allow you to enter the world of the monks, but to just view it from the outside. You will see the day-to-day activities from season to season and be able to form your own opinions and conclusions. Many may at first experience impatience at the repetitions and variations encountered, but allow yourself time to adjust to the contemplative pace. And be witness to the ordinary moments that taken together are a representation of grace.
The Carthusian monks who are the subjects of this documentary do not have a great deal to say. Living in a light-filled stone charterhouse in a picturesque valley in the French Alps, they bind themselves to a vow not of literal silence but of extreme reticence. We view the daily lives, prayers and routines of this most ascetic of Catholic Orders founded in 1084 by Saint Bruno. The monks, because of their vow of poverty, subsist on very little. They pray aloud at times and sing solemn Gregorian chants, but they rarely speak, except on there Monday walks.
The monks in their rigor and discipline find their freedom and fulfillment. Your view on the monastery and our world will change as the movie progresses. And isn’t that what a good movie or book is suppose to accomplish? It is a world of yesteryear as it existed one thousand years ago, where some modern technology has crept in, as you will see. In our modern world of moral decay this gives us a window to a traditional Catholic existence. A two thousand year tradition of following the Desert Fathers into a way of life that is rarely, if ever, seen.
I feel that this film is about the presence of God, a God who is there for those who seek Him with their whole hearts. In the film only a blind monk offers some simple but piercing observations on Christian happiness, abandonment to God’s providential care, and the tragedy of the loss of faith and meaning in the modern world.
This film is not only for Catholics, it is for everyone in the world to see and benefit from.
Below is pictured a gathering of Carthusian monks.
Comments
5 Comments so far
[…] Into Great Silence Review […]
Director Philip Gröning discusses life at the Grande Chartreuse monastery, the presence of God in the world, and his award-winning film
I look forward to experiencing this film. I missed its premier showing at the New York Metropolitan Museum. But I am sure I will see it soon. Worse case scenario I will buy the DVD this Fall when released.
Thank you for the post.
A recent question asked was:
“One of the novices portrayed in the film… was using an electronic organ to practice the chant in his cell. Is this practice (specifically, the use of the instrument) generally encouraged by the order? I would have thought that the preference for non-accompanied chant would beget an alternative form of practice for perfecting their intonation of the liturgy without the assistance of instruments. Any insight into this would be appreciated.”
The answer is no : the practice of using a toy organ to practice chanting in cell in not “generally encouraged”. It is just a practical means that has been found useful in the specific situation of this monk. It is good this question is asked, because it gives me one more occasion to underline the intelligence and the wisdom of the unwritten rule of Carthusian life : let us be strict, but not rigid.
If Carthusian life has endured through the centuries, it could be attributed to this intelligent non-dogmatic, non-rigid approach to practical aspects of life. It is the spirit that counts, not the letter. (But the letter guides us of course. For instance, in the movie, when the monks, during the Walk, discuss the rule of washing hands before entering the refectory on sunday, one of them says that this old rule is obsolete. They all laugh, but the Reverend father remarks that such signs are useful, because signs are here to give us direction!)
You will never see an organ in church, and that’s the main thing. But if a monk finds it helpful to pose his voice, perfect his intonation and practice the neums with the help of such a small toy instrument, then the procurator will provide it, because what is really important is chanting in church, which is at the heart of Carthusian life. Comparatively, the presence of a toy organ in a cell is a mere trifle. In fact the statutes mention the general framework of providing the monks with what they need.
[…] He starts off with a discussion about the film Into Great Silence, which shows the life of the Carthusian monks at the Le Grande Chartreuse. And in this well written article he contrast the silence and loneliness that the monks use to find peace and love, to find God, to the horrible murders that recently took place at Virgina Tech. […]
In the movie an old monk comments, “because there is no past or future in God, and all is present, he sees our lives in their entireties.” Terrifying.. .But the monk continues, “because he is an infinitely good being, he never ceases to seek what is good for us.” Terribly comforting. When you see the movie and the condition of the monk who shares with us this precious insight, I think you will be even more moved, as my wife and I were when we viewed IGS the first time and when I viewed it again last evening with a friend deploying overseas.
I honor all of you out there attempting to live your lives by some rule, be it Carthusian, Benedictine, Carmelite, or another. I try to live by another rule, which for reasons of discretion I desire not to name. I hope that by living my rule with as much integrity as I can muster — by stopping making excuses for my infidelities to it and by seeing those infidelities as choices, for the Lord has not removed his grace — I too may one day say by personal experience and not by theological assent what this wise and good monk has shared with us.
For isn’t the sum of all spiritual practice simply this: to lead us to this insight that God sees everything, everything, and still forgives and still seeks our good? I was equally moved by the observation, in the second disk I believe, that the Carthusian rule leads Carthusians to accept that they are imperfect beings. Doesn’t our perfection in Christ demand that we reach this acceptance too, the acceptance that is the beginning of life in the way of peace, when we can worship Him “without fear, holy and blameless in his sight all the days of our lives.”
Blessings to you all,
David