Thursday, January 5, 2006

Carthusian Monk Film a Huge Hit

BBC World News is reporting that a movie that was filmed in a Carthusian monastery up in the French Alps is being well received in Germany. German film goers are filling the cinemas up across the land to an unlikely hit of a movie. The film is three hours long and it films the lives of these Carthusian Monks in complete silence. This film is called Die Grosse Stille or Into Great Silence. The BBC goes on to say that the Carthusians are the strictest Christian order and was not expected to be a hit. But it is playing to packed cinemas, fascinating audiences with the unique glimpse of a contemplative life, unknown beyond the monastery walls. I checked out the trailer and it is what the article says it is. Completely in silence with the intermittent Gregorian chant being practiced in the background and the turning of the pages while a monk is reading the Bible... in Latin! I am not really sure why, but I am completely fascinated by this film. If it ever reaches the United States, me and a few of my friends will be rushing towards the cinema to catch this film! For more about this movie, including the trailer, click here (in German). For more about the Carthusian Monks (and Nuns) click here. For more of this BBC report click here. To request this film be shown in the United States, contact your local Parish or write to EWTN.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If this movie was well received then the history of the Transfiguration Charterhouse would be a "Block Buster".

The Carthusian Monastery on Mt. Equinox in Arlington,Vermont is a legacy from the Davidson family, Joseph George and Madeline. The life of this "cantankerous" pioneer Union Carbide Chemist is an amazing true story of a man who was deeply involved with the development of the atomic bomb and was recognized by Presdential Citation after WWII. Almost in expiation, He assisted the Monks to establish their Charterhouse and provided numerous income sources and control of their mountain environment. I am surprised that someone has not already made a movvie of the life of Mr. Davidson, a "King of a man" according to his biographer.

Anonymous said...

That is an incredible story.

There are so many intersting, powerful, and miraculous stories that have occurred in our lifetime, yet many go untold beyond our Catholic faith.

Hopefully these stories will reach to many more Catholics and beyond to inspire others to grow and return home to our faith.

Anonymous said...

I found the film terribly frustrating and didn't enjoy it at all. Perhaps I needed a narrative, more structure or something. I saw a four-part Italian film on the Carthusians that was wonderful because it had a narrator.

I have studied monasticism for years, did my baccalaureate dissertation on it and have admired the austere orders for years and years. I guess my disappointment was exacerbated by this. A friend is a Parkminster postulant and I learned very little from Into the Great Silence that I didn't learn by reading the Constitutions.

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