INTO GREAT SILENCE July 4–10
Philip Gröning. 2006. 162 min. NR. Germany, in French with subtitles. Zeitgeist Films.
"I hesitate, given the early date...to call it one of the best films of the year. I prefer to think of it as the antidote to all of the others." (New York Times)
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE, SUNDANCE.
This transcendent documentary does more than depict the world of the Grande Chartreuse, one of the world's most ascetic monasteries: Into Great Silence embodies it. With no score, no voiceover, and no archival footage, what remains is time, space, and light. A meditative chronicle of a spiritual community nestled deep in the postcard-perfect French Alps, this is a rare transformative theatrical experience that's stunning audiences and winning awards here and abroad.

WORDS OF MY PERFECT TEACHER
Thurs. July 5
Lesley Ann Patten. 2003. 103 min. NR. Canada, in English. International Film Circuit.
"Delightful...an adventure lovingly captured." (Toronto Star)
While Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is an eminent Tibetan Buddhist leader whose calling is "to help sentient beings," he's also a soccer fan, a filmmaker, and a man with an international teaching schedule and pockets full of cell phones. Featuring appearances by Bernardo Bertolucci and Steven Seagal and a world-beat soundtrack, this is an illuminating look at a charismatic teacher who breaks the mold.

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WHEEL OF TIME Wed. July 11
Werner Herzog. 2003. 81 min. NR. Germany, in English.
"It puts you right in the center." (New York Times)
The great Werner Herzog turns his singular documentarian's gaze on Tibetan Buddhism. Following the 2002 ceremony that drew hundreds of thousands to an initiation for monks at Bodh Gaya, India (the site where Prince Gautama Siddhartha attained enlightenment), Herzog creates a "mesmerizing" and "otherworldly" (San Francisco Chronicle) work that long lingers in the memory.