The House at the End of the World: The Carthusian Cloistered Monastery

Stat Crux dum volvitur orbis
The Cross is steady while the world turns

This week’s film is something a little different: a documentary about Carthusian monks in a South Korean monastery, members of one the Church’s strictest religious orders. These monks live a life mostly separate from the world with no phones, computers, TVs or internet, spending much of their time in solitude with few belongings, eating very modest meals, keeping silent for long periods of time, and following strict schedules of prayer.

The meditative and mostly dialog-free film does not try to emotionally manipulate us with dramatic music or suprises, but rather grants us a small window into the monks’ way of life by simply sharing some of their daily or yearly routines, allowing us to reflect on the many ways in which our modern culture can so easily distract us from Christ.

The film is not rated, but would likely be G. It is family-friendly, but with its slow pacing and need to read subtitles, younger viewers may be less interested. The film is a long one, but comes in three parts, so there’s no need to watch it all in one sitting.

The film is available for free on YouTube:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Runtime: 2 hours, 42 minutes
Rated G

(For those interested, Into Great Silence is another meditative film about Carthusian monks in France, but this film is unfortunately a bit more difficult to find.)