Cinematic Theology

Yesterday was my day off and it followed the usual pattern. I went home on Tuesday evening and spent some time with my family and then went to see my Dad who is in a care home. Then I normally go to the cinema. Two films have struck me greatly in the last few weeks and have left me in a reflective mood. The firstof the films is a cinematic gem. The Carthusian Community of the Grand Chartreuse near Grenoble allowed to shoot a three-hour near-silent documentary about its life. What some critics feared would be this year's most boring movie turns out to be a strangely fascinating meditation on the eremetical life. Into Great Silence depicts its Carthusian monks in the midst of their slow moving daily devotions and duties, from mending shoes to chopping vegetables.

There are even rare moments of jollity: two monks sliding down a snowy slope in their white habits, laughing hysterically, and an elderly monk caught whispering fondly to cats.

The films director, Philip Gröning, spent 15 years gently trying to persuade the monks to let him film their routines and rituals. He was finally told "we are ready" in 2001.
But he received the go ahead only on condition that he used no artificial light, added no music or commentary and came to Chartreuse, near Grenoble, on his own. The end result's most striking aspect is its silence. There is no speech at all for the first 20 minutes, and afterwards only occasionally. What sound there is comes from throat-clearing between prayers, the wooden bell tower, the drops of melting icicles, the tailor cutting cloth for a new habit, or the monks' footsteps as they head to chapel. One elderly monk does, however, break his silence to thank God for making him blind. "I'm sure God did it for the good of my soul," he said.

The Carthusian order has 370 monks spread across the West, Latin America and Asia. On average a monk spends 65 years in his monastery. The order is a legend even within the Catholic church. Theirs is the strictest form of contemplative life in the Christian world, more severe even than that of the Trappists, who also live in silence. Founded by St Bruno of Cologne in 1084, the order defines the life of a Carthusian as a long path, the sole purpose of which is contemplation. The monks live in poverty, pray and sing Gregorian chants together but otherwise are allowed to talk only while they work - when absolutely necessary - as well as during their weekly walk together.

They sleep no more than three hours at once, as even the night-time is shaped by prayer.
In the film none of the monks, apart from two novices, Benjamin and Etienne, is given a name.

What struck me most was the sense of joy these men exuded and it was infectious. I felt challenged to deepen my commitment to prayer ans listening. In the Great Silence these men of prayer listen intently.

Yesterday I watched Blood Diamond, the latest De Caprio film. I've never been a great fan of De Caprio, but in this film he is convincing as a diamond smuggler and user of people. His character, Archer, is motivated by greed and he is prepared to go the extra mile to make big money. Those who get in the way of his pursuit of wealth are just unfortunate. The film is situated amidst the civil war in Sierra Leone and the diamond mines that fund the ongoing conflict there. We move between issues at great pace. In the course of the film we see that effects of war, the forced labour in the diamond fields, the forced conscription of children into the rebel forces and the process by which these children are brainwashed into becoming killing machines. We encounter the depravity that humanity is capable of and the immense dignity of the human person in the character of Solomon, a man forced into labouring in the diamond fields by the rebels, who finds the 'pearl of great price' in the form of a 100 carot pink diamond and is pursued as he flees the fields to find his family. The saga of Solomon and Archer intertwine and we are led deep into the concerns of Western Africa and its people.

This film moved me deeply and led me to reflect on my attitude and attatchment to things. What value do I give people? What do I take for granted? Who do I take for granted? What do I put my trust in? Who do I put my trust in?

Be Well and live simply :-)