Into Great Silence

2005, Documentary, 2h 44m

66 Reviews 5,000+ Ratings

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critics consensus

A meditative, deliberately paced doc capable of absorbing patient viewers into a whole different world. Read critic reviews

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Into Great Silence Photos

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Movie Info

Sixteen years after making his initial request, filmmaker Philip Gröning travels to the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery nestled deep in the French Alps. For approximately six months, Gröning immerses himself in the daily rituals, prayers and tasks performed by the Carthusian monks, considered to be among the most ascetic of all orders.
  • Genre:
    Documentary
  • Original Language:
    French (France)
  • Director:
    Philip Gröning
  • Producer:
    Philip Gröning, Elda Guidinetti, Andres Pfäffli, Michael Weber
  • Writer:
    Philip Gröning
  • Release Date (Theaters):
     limited
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $790.5K
  • Runtime:
  • Distributor:
    Zeitgeist
  • Production Co:
    Bayerischer Rundfunk, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Televisione Svizzera Italiana (TSI)
  • Sound Mix:
    Dolby SRD

Cast & Crew

Philip Gröning
Director
Philip Gröning
Writer
Philip Gröning
Executive Producer
Jörg Schulze
Executive Producer
Michael Stricker
Executive Producer
Philip Gröning
Producer
Elda Guidinetti
Producer
Andres Pfäffli
Producer
Michael Weber
Producer
Michael Busch
Original Music
Philip Gröning
Original Music
Philip Gröning
Cinematographer
Philip Gröning
Film Editor
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Critic Reviews for Into Great Silence

All Critics (66) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (8)

View All Critic Reviews (66)

Audience Reviews for Into Great Silence

  • Aug 30, 2009
    I'm sure to many people this would have a great religious value, but I thought it was really boring. I just watched the whole thing on fast forward and I don't think I missed anything. I enjoyed watching the monks slide down snowy hills...that's about it.
    Sarah P Super Reviewer
  • Sep 08, 2008
    a beautiful film for sure. but could have been twice as effective at half the length.
    chase _ Super Reviewer
  • Jun 24, 2008
    [font=Century Gothic]"Into Great Silence" is a nearly wordless documentary about the Grande Chartreuse Monastery in France(Instead of talking heads, there are silent heads.) where monks go to be closer to god, away from secular influences and most material comforts.(The only electrical appliance is an electric razor used to shave heads.) But the monks do go for the occasional walk and one talks of going to Seoul.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]All of which had the potential to be a fascinating documentary had it not been so long.(An interminable 162 minutes, by the way.) At epic length, it stretches the material to the breaking point, so most of it just seems random and redundant.(Some of the quotes definitely are.) And it would have been a nice touch if the camera had followed the two novices we first see at an initiation ceremony and gotten a feel as to how they adjust to the unique surroundings. Like one monk says, not all are accepted nor all are suited to the life.[/font]
    Walter M Super Reviewer
  • Jul 25, 2007
    Mesmerising. It really draws you into the patterns of monastery life.
    Angela A Super Reviewer
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