Into Great Silence

This is the first film ever about life inside the Grande Chartreuse, the mother house of the legendary Carthusian Order in the French Alps. The Carthusain Order is reputed to be one of the most strict brotherhoods among the Roman Catholic Church. Hidden from the public eye, the daily life of the monks follows the century old rules and rituals of the order. Visitors and tourists are kept off the premises, there are no films of the monks. The last photographs were taken in 1960, when two journalists were allowed inside the monastry, provided no monks were depicted.

Philip Groning lived in the monastery for four months, becoming part of the ritual and daily life. ’Into Great Silence’ is a truly unique experience, a film outside the realm of language, a voyage into silence