In 2005 after more than two years of editing, Gröning released Into Great Silence. The film is almost three hours long, made only with available light and available sound. (There is no voice-over and this was what I liked best – being allowed to watch a documentary as a succession of images and being spared the customary oral directives about what to think.)
The Carthusian monks follow a set of ancient rules requiring them to be silent almost always, and usually alone, each in his bare wooden room, praying and studying.
Once a week an outdoor walk is permitted, and conversation.