Broken Silence (1995)

Broken Silence (1995) (DVD) (*)

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Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
German ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
106 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1995 and produced in:
Switzerland ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Wolfgang Panzer

Written By:
Wolfgang Panzer

Actors:
Martin Huber ..... Fried Adelphi
Ameenah Kaplan ..... Ashaela
Michael Moriarty ..... Mulligan
Colonel Kappor ..... Director, Immigration Office

Synopsis:

A Carthusian monk, Fried Adelphi, dedicated to silence and meditation for the last 25 years, tells his story (to priest, Michael Moriarty, in a minor role). His order sends him to Indonesia to request the extension of their cloister's lease. En route to Jakarta, he experiences claustrophobia and de-planes in New Delhi, India. Without contacts or any worldly knowledge, he fortunately is reunited with his fellow passenger, Ashaela, the wallet thief. Unaware of her indiscretion, Fried allows Ashaela to help him find his way to Jakarta.

The Carthusian monk Fried Adelphi has spent 25 years in a Swiss monastery, keeping his vow of silence and meditation, when his prior instructs him to go and seek the owner of their monastery, in order to extend an expiring 100-year lease. The owner is a vulcanologist; she now lives a secluded life in the mountains of Indonesia. Released from his vow of silence, Fried starts his journey and experiences the culture shock to be expected already in the plane: he loses his wallet, which his seat neighbor, Ashaela, an African American drummer from New York, silently takes. Suffering from claustrophobia, Fried leaves the plane at the Delhi stopover, to continue his travel by sea, but now he has no money. Ashaela offers him a ride to town. Thus begins a journey that will take them both to various parts of India and to Indonesia. Fried must learn to adapt his dress rules to the Asian climate. Ashaela eventually admits the origin of the travel funds. We learn she suffers from an incurable disease and may die anytime now. The Carthusian monk throws overboard what is too much of monastic rules and habits, and with Ashaela's help, he eventually fulfills his assignment. Soon after, he cremates the woman's body at a palm tree oceanfront, according to her will, but against his own religious beliefs and a Church interdict. Before ending his journey, Fried goes to New York, to bring back a pair of drumsticks to Ashaela's friend. Then Fried visits a local church to confess. Here begins the film: the Carthusian confesses piece by piece what happened to him and what he did; the impatient New York priest listens only reluctantly at first, then becomes gradually interested. The viewer experiences the road movie at the same pace, in flashbacks.

Fried Adelphi, a Carthusian monk, is sent to Indonesia by his fellow brothers to extend the lease for his monastery in Switzerland. However, he is gripped by claustrophobia on the plane and is forced to disembark at the first intermediate landing in New Delhi.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 24 September, 2010.

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