Into Great Silence

Last night I went to see the film "Into Great Silence," which is playing through the weekend at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.  More an experience than a documentary film, the filmmaker does an excellent job of bringing to the screen the lives of the Carthusian Monks at the Grande Chartreuse, which was founded by St. Bruno in 1084.  Philip Groning, the filmmaker, wrote the prior of the Grand Chartreuse in 1984 asking permission to do the film.  Sixteen years later they responded, giving him permission.

The film is 162 minutes long and mostly silent.  I overheard one person coming out of the theatre say that he liked it but that the movie was too long.  For me, it was just right because it took me a long time to get quiet.  For the first 20 or 30 minutes of the film my whole being was rebelling against the quiet.  I wanted to fill my head with some noise, some distraction, or with sleep.  After this initial - and quite unexpected - reaction, my body, mind, and spirit relaxed, allowing me to enter into the rhythm of the film.  The film is causing me to reflect on my own prayer life, which includes 20 to 30 minutes of quiet most mornings.  If I fill the rest of my day with noise - immediate and remote - then all or most of my formal morning prayer time will be spent fighting the silence. Hmm!   

After the movie, we came home and supported the monks by drinking their Chartreuse.