CINEMA STARS

One thing you might come out with after three hours in Into Great Silence is that it must be pretty fucking boring to be a monk. You might also wonder at times as to the point of it all, the isolation, the bread making, the legislated seclusion from "seculars." But observations like that really just belie the point. The documentary was shot, after a 16 year wait to get permission, at Grande Chartreuse, a monastery in the French Alps. Somewhat reminiscent of one of Werner Herzog's early documentaries in style (sans his priceless narration), Into Great Silence simply observes, concentrating on facts and life as it is, and completely avoiding comment (a departure from Herzog). Shots of monks carrying out chores, inducting new members and eating are interspersed with romantic shots of the landscape surrounding the monastery and expressionist shots of rain, snow and puddles that Stan Brakhage would love. The overall mood is stark and somber, which makes moments such as one in which the monks sled and ski down a snow saturated hill all the more amusing.