Into Great Silence Documentary - Spellbinding, Utterly Wonderful

Into Great Silence is an odyssey into a world that is rarely seen.  The Carthusians are the spiritual elite (for lack of a better description) of the Christian world.  They are essentially our version of the mountain hermits of the east.  The difference being that they are hermits for life, instead of for years at a time as in the case with most other hermits.  They live a life of full obedience to God which, particularly in contrast to our modern day, is both awe inspiring and incredibly humbling.

This documentary contains nearly no words (except for an interview with a blind monk).  As [TIT:2:12] guides us into a new way of living, these simple monks exemplify this in ways far beyond what most of can imagine.

While it is an amazing movie it of course draws up certain issues, not least of which what is the point of this type of spiritual life?  How do you test yourself, without as the Zen monks speak of, going into the city when you think you are enlightened and seeing what happens?  How does seclusion express Christian love?  Is it possible to obtain a deep spirituality such as this while having connection with the world?  Is it possible without connection to the world?  I don't know the answers to these questions but the movie serves to inspire the spirit to find out.