Movies

Today I've actually watched two movies - pretty unusual for me!

We got Into Great Silence out of the library. It's a documentary/meditation on the monks of Le Grand Chatreuse - the motherhouse of the Carthusians. I read about them last year, but this took the monks from the page into real life. It is so much more than a movie. It's a meditation on life, on love, on dedication to God, and on silence.

There is no score - the only sound in the movie is the sound of the monks themselves. The clank of buckets. The sound of snow falling. The wind blowing in the trees. Water falling. Chant. Philip Groning tried for 16 years to get into the Charterhouse to film, and they finally let him in for 5 months. He had no film crew, and lived the life of the monks, attending all of their offices, praying and living in the silence of the cells. He filmed in a mix of digital and lovely, grainy Super8, and it was totally atmospheric.

The other one we saw was Toy Story 3 at the theatre tonight. And it was superb. I wasn't actually a huge fan of the original Toy Story movies, but this was really well done. Basic plot: the toys' owner is going to college and has grown out of the toys. They end up in a daycare (horror house) and spend the rest of the movie attempting to escape. The animation is absolutely superb and the story really hung together. There were also a lot of in-jokes for the adults in the audience about the various kinds of toys, including when Ken and Barbie first met, and the ability of Mr and Mrs Potato-Head to move their various bits independent of their potato bodies. It was also a really good story about dedication, friendship, courage, and what happens when toys go bad.... Highly recommended. Adults and children will both enjoy this one. Heaps better than Shrek Forever After!