Imagine a movie that's not a movie at all, but an act of contemplation. This is "Into Great Silence." Sometimes a prayer, more often a rumination, it's a film that sprung from one man's urge for silence. Director Philip Groning wanted to make a documentary about the monks living in the Grande Chartreuse — the Carthusian monastery situated in the French Alps — to shed light on the renowned Carthusian order, which is defined by prayer, silence and manual labor. He first approached the Grande Chartreuse in 1984 but the prior refused. "The timing isn't right," he said. Sixteen years later, in the year 2000, Groning suddenly got a call from the monastery, the prior asking if he was still interested in making his film.

Groning was allowed to bring only himself and one camera, and was also asked not to use any additional lights or camera appendages, ensuring the shots are completely without artifice. He lived with the monks for six months in 2002 and, when he re-emerged from the doors of the monastery and back into the ordinary world, he realized that it would take him a long, long time to sort and edit the accumulated footage.

In 2005, "Into Great Silence" made its appearance at various film festivals and went on to enjoy considerable popularity at box offices in France, Italy and Groning's native Germany. Now the film has finally made its way to Japan and it's an occasion for understated celebration.