Yesterday I watched 'Into Great Silence' as part of a 'faith and films' group. It is about an order of Carthusian monks, an order that has lived in the Grande Chartreuse monastery in the French alps since the 11th century and have taken a vow of perpetual silence and dedication to prayer and study.
It is an artfully made film, filmed very much in the spirit of the monastery, slow and detail-orientated, no music (except the birds) or voiceover, focusing on falling snow or the light across the wooden floor, and since we were (mostly) silent ourselves watching, it felt like a mini silent retreat. (It's by the same people that made Manufactured Landscapes and the cinematography is similar.) It's awfully long - nearly three hours, which I think would have been better to know from the start but it was, as one review says, entrancing. You can sense the peace in the wood and stone of the building that has permeated the place for a thousand years, the security of unchanging ritual.
I would think, if you were an introverted rule-follower, you'd be in heaven in this alpine retreat. No worries about bills, food, a roof over your head, deadlines, interacting with other people. You just get to sit in your cell all day and read or pray. On Sunday afternoons they go for walks and are allowed to speak and they did seem quite chatty, as you might imagine. My favourite scene was when, on one such walk in winter, they climbed to the top of a hill and then skied down on their feet, tumbling over and egging each other on, their white robes blending into the snow, so you could just see their heads and flailing hands and feet. Playing. It was a good reminder of their humanity. They seemed happy.
Here is the trailer:
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