Review of Into Great Silence (2005) by Amy R — 03 Jan 2010

I had varying impressions of this extremely long and unique film as I watched different parts of it. In the beginning, I struggled not to switch it off, and felt that watching the daily lives of ascetic monks was about as entertaining as watching paint dry.

In the middle, I started to have a lot of questions in my head, which at least gave me something to think about in place of dialogue- such as, why did these men become monks? Do they ever get to see their family members again, if they have any? Who pays for the monastery's upkeep and food? And what happens if they become very ill, such as at the end of their lives, and need special care? Do they go to the hospital? Towards the end, I really started to feel angry.

Okay, sure, they are ascetic monks, and they sacrifice all earthly pleasures and conveniences to live a stark life of religious devotion. I admire that. But if they are religious, then surely they must care about the suffering of other people.

I think ultimately it is a bit selfish of them to waste all of that manpower on themselves and their small community, when they could be using it to help people in the outside world. They may be depriving themselves, but they are also removing themselves from all the messy complications that all the rest of us have to deal with.

To think of all the good they could do if they went out to help poor people, or kids, or something...