Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Into Great Silence (2005)

This is topic Into Great Silence (2005) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-18-2007, 11:08 AM:

This is just now getting released in the US. If you are interested in a 3-hour documentary about monks who barely speak, I can recommend this.

It's a good, well-made film, although it would have been perfectly good if it had been an hour shorter. It is, for the most part, nicely photographed (on an odd mix of HDCAM and super-8), and it is worth seeing for that reason alone. Unfortunately, the editing needs to be tighter--toward the end, it gets to be a bit too repetitive, with scenes similar to those earlier in the film, but which don't reveal any new information about the characters or setting. I'm normally a fan of slow pacing and "contemplative" shots (e.g. Goodbye Dragon In, Gerry, Werckmeister Harmonies), but some such scenes in this film just feel sloppy.

Still, it's worth checking out.