Große Stille, Die 2005

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Into Great Silence is a film of great spiritual intensity and haunting minimalism that enlarges your concepts of movies and of life. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: This 2005 feature is demanding to say the least, but its pulse-slowing rhythms leave a real sense of peace. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: On a philosophical level, Into Great Silence emphasizes the virtues of the ascetic life, returning again and again to the idea of giving away all possessions in order to become a true disciple. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: The silence captured in this documentary may be the most eloquent you'll ever hear. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: As a place to enter and meditate, Into Great Silence is imminently worthy, but as a documentary, it doesn't do enough to probe the meaning of the quotation Groning returns to repeatedly: "Oh Lord, you have seduced me, and I was seduced." Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Have I got a movie for you. Into Great Silence is a two-hour-and-40-minute documentary about monks, and it is one of the transporting film experiences of this or any other year. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Though it likely will not persuade people to join the ranks, experiencing life behind the walls has an undeniable effect. We've been allowed a glimpse of eternity. And who would not be changed by that? Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: For two hours and 42 minutes, Into Great Silence offers painterly images of an existence that is, almost literally, too reverent for words. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Their silence is full to the brim with incidental sound that functions as both score and narration in this hyper-empathic film. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Into Great Silence is one of those films -- Martin Scorsese's Kundun is another example -- wherein the spiritual aspiration of the filmmaker informs, and even exalts, the film itself. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: Groning then moved into the isolated, centuries-old monastery and for six months, minus crew or artificial light, recorded the monks' daily routine. The result is the seductive documentary Into Great Silence. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A transcendental piece of filmmaking. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: A rapturous, absorbing experience -- it has no voice-over, no back story or history, no archival footage and no talking heads -- but only if you can surrender yourself to it. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: [Some] viewers are likely to consider this nearly three-hour, nearly soundless documentary as a chance to catch up on their sleep. Read more

Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail: Though there are dozens of images here that you might want as a computer-screen saver, Into Great Silence does not add up to a valuable or engrossing documentary. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Viewing Into Great Silence is meant to mimic the experience of living with the monks. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: More than any film outside Bresson, this non-judgemental document allows us to feel the spirituality of the ecstatic privations guiding their journey. A Christmas gift of time and contemplation. Read more

Jay Weissberg, Variety: Such a poetic essay on the slowed-down rhythms of life, that its quiet pleasures carry the viewer along at a pace commensurate with the monks' own unhurried sense of time. Read more

Michelle Orange, Village Voice: Into Great Silence moves into the realm of humble observation. Groning traces the passing of the seasons with beauty shots of God's creations, from snow drifts and rain puddles to flower petals and kitten whiskers. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: As we vicariously participate in their daily rituals, we find ourselves at the ground level of spiritual worship. It's hard to recall a similar documentary that brings viewers so palpably close to that sacred experience. Read more