Into Great Silence

I watched the DVD Into Great Silence last night. The new documentary that captures compellingly the life of contemplation in the monastery of Chartreuse. Almost three hours long it is slow and deliberate and becomes itself contemplation. There is no narration and no background music. So lots of silence.
We get to see what the monks do: their work and worship and recreation. But the camera also takes its time just looking at ordinary things like the holy water font and rain rippling into a puddle and the corridors themselves. Starting with snow on the buildings and the surrounding mountains establishes a stillness that pervades the whole film. One sequence has an eternal feel where the camera speeds up and we see the sky over the buildings as a full 24 hours passes with stars and daytime clouds.
No individual monk stands out so we get a strong sense of community life even though there is very little verbal communication.
Throughout it all the bliss and joy of the great silence.