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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

67
$9.99
75
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48
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56
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Seraphine
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Song of Sparrows, The
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What Goes Up
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57
Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
91
Hurt Locker, The
89
Goodbye Solo
88
Tulpan
87
Gomorrah
86
Seraphine
84
Summer Hours
83
U2 3D
83
Revanche
83
Tyson
82
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
82
Sugar
82
Hunger
82
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
81
Il Divo
81
Beaches of Agnes, The
80
Food, Inc.
80
Tokyo Sonata
79
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
78
Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story, The
78
O'Horten
77
Every Little Step
77
Sin Nombre
75
24 City
74
Treeless Mountain
74
Afghan Star
74
Two Lovers
74
Song of Sparrows, The
74
Lemon Tree
71
Pressure Cooker
71
Jerichow
70
Shall We Kiss?
70
Tony Manero
70
End of the Line, The
69
Valentino: The Last Emperor
69
Unmistaken Child
67
$9.99
67
Rudo y Cursi
67
Girlfriend Experience, The
66
Adoration
66
Moon
65
Sex Positive
65
Departures
64
Outrage
64
Examined Life
64
Throw Down Your Heart
64
Lymelife
63
Tokyo!
63
Cheri
63
Dead Snow
63
Tetro
63
Great Buck Howard, The
62
Cherry Blossoms
62
Big Man Japan
62
Not Forgotten
61
Sunshine Cleaning
60
Under Our Skin
59
Sleep Dealer
58
Julia
58
Easy Virtue
57
Away We Go
57
Merry Gentleman, The
57
Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
56
Girl from Monaco, The
56
American Violet
55
Brothers Bloom, The
54
Is Anybody There?
54
Pontypool
54
Stoning of Soraya M., The
52
Quiet Chaos
50
Management
48
Alien Trespass
45
Whatever Works
42
Little Ashes
42
Tennessee
40
Limits of Control, The
40
Paris 36
38
Gigantic
36
Life is Hot in Cracktown
35
New York
28
Big Shot-Caller, The
28
Surveillance
22
What Goes Up
18
Downloading Nancy
16
I Hate Valentine's Day
xx
Call of the Wild
xx
Home
xx
Offshore
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun, The
First Hand Films
 |
|
MPAA RATING: N/A
Starring
Mr. Vig,
and
Sister Ambrosija
Mr. Vig is an elderly, deeply eccentric, never-married Dane, living alone in a ramshackle castle; he dreams of donating his homestead to the Russian Orthodox Church to become a monastery. In a long, black overcoat, with a shock of unruly white hair, and glasses perched on the tip of his nose, he looks like a character straight out of Dickens. Enter Sister Ambrosija, a remarkably attractive young Russian nun, who arrives with a small entourage and plans to whip the place into shape. A whirlwind of activity (days begin at 5:30 am), she insists upon extensive repairs; Mr. Vig wants Band-Aids, whereas she suggests surgery. Their contest of wills plays out in humorous, offbeat encounters that take unexpected turns as two unlikely people find companionship and common ground. Hauntingly shot, The Monastery is a modern fairytale with timeless roots. (Film Forum)
| GENRE(S): |
Documentary
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Pernille Rose Grønkjær
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: February 5, 2008
Theatrical: August 29, 2007
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
84 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Denmark |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
Danish / English |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Against all odds, you'll leave this remarkable film caring quite a bit for the old coot -- surely a sign of a very good documentary.

75
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
Gronkjaer's cinematography is pleasing, with beautiful sunsets and tranquil snowscapes. I won't give away the ending, but it might bring a tear to your eye.

70
Variety
Leslie Felperin
Using material shot sporadically over six years, TV-experienced helmer Pernille Rose Gronkjaer builds an affectionate but admirably unsentimental portrait of her eccentric, headstrong protagonists.

70
Village Voice
Aaron Hillis
Unlike far too many human-interest docs today, director Pernille Rose Grønkjær's fantastic little character portrait doesn't rest on the strength of its personality, with prudent attention paid to aesthetic nuances and the growing quasi-love that the titular bickerers have for one another.

70
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
An oddly graceful combination of fairy tale and romantic comedy, set in a forgotten corner of the world.

67
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Noel Murray
Between their bickering, Grønkjær's offscreen prompting, and the sappy, ubiquitous soundtrack, The Monastery is like the opposite of "Into Great Silence."

63
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
It may be that Gronkjaer couldn't get the nun to open up to her. But not knowing much about her creates an awkward imbalance that Vig, fascinating as he is, can't overcome.

50
Film Threat
Pete Vonder Haar
A curious little film. On the surface, it's a story about one man's mission to create an Orthodox monastery in Denmark, and along the way it manages to say something about everyone's desire to be remembered after they pass away.

50
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
Despite some pretty seasonal photography and evocative scenes of the nuns’ rigorous daily rituals, which involve many hours of prayer, The Monastery is a flighty, disorganized film with a blurry timeline and a wandering attention span.


The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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