Your friend goes to Bulgaria on a holiday and visits a monastery in the Rhodopi mountains. So enamoured with the monastery's quiet beauty, your friend films endless walks down corridors and close-ups of candles burning in the sacristie. Like most home videos, there is no commentary, no editing, shots wobble, frequently out of focus, and low light causes grainy images.
Your friend's video would be better than "Into Great Silence" because no friend would make you sit through three hours of a bad holiday video.
If people say that this movie provides a glimpse into a different lifestyle, do not believe them. If you want to understand monastic life, kneel for three hours on a stone floor instead - and keep your eyes closed. This movie pretends to be insightful but it's not. Some may find God in silence but if you haven't found God yet, you are unlikely to find the Supreme Being sitting comfortably in a cinema seat for three excruciatingly boring hours.
Your friend's video would be better than "Into Great Silence" because no friend would make you sit through three hours of a bad holiday video.
If people say that this movie provides a glimpse into a different lifestyle, do not believe them. If you want to understand monastic life, kneel for three hours on a stone floor instead - and keep your eyes closed. This movie pretends to be insightful but it's not. Some may find God in silence but if you haven't found God yet, you are unlikely to find the Supreme Being sitting comfortably in a cinema seat for three excruciatingly boring hours.