Film
Faith
- Drama
- Slow-burning
A documentary following an isolated monastic community devoted to martial arts and spiritual discipline. Shot in contemplative long takes, it examines what drives people to renounce the world and submit to rigorous regimens. Meditative and searching rather than sensational—for viewers drawn to questions of meaning, sacrifice, and what monasticism actually demands of its practitioners.
If you liked this
Into Great Silence2005
A mesmerizing portrait of Carthusian monks in the Alps, shot almost entirely in silence and natural light. If you want to understand monastic life without narration or judgment, this is the gold standard.
But Nearly three hours of quiet observation. Long stretches contain minimal visible action, which can feel static if you're used to conventional narrative momentum.
The Monastery2019
Follows a small Orthodox monastery in rural New York as it navigates faith, community, and survival. Intimate and sometimes funny—it captures the mundane alongside the spiritual without losing reverence for either.
But The pacing is deliberately slow. If you need crisp editing and conventional storytelling structure, this will frustrate you.
Holy Hell2016
Documents a charismatic spiritual commune in 1980s Los Angeles, shot partly by commune members themselves. Hypnotic and troubling—a study in how isolation and devotion can become dangerous.
But It's about spiritual abuse and delusion. The film doesn't look away from cult dynamics, which some may find exploitative or deeply uncomfortable.
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Synecdoche, New York2008
Both explore enclosed worlds built on ritual and discipline, and both ask whether that pursuit connects us to truth or divorces us from reality. Both suggest isolation might be either enlightenment or delusion.
A theatre director builds an enormous replica world inside a warehouse, obsessively recreating life at a 1:1 scale. Same paradox: an isolated community devoted to discipline and art, pursuing transcendence through repetition and control. Surreal and devastating.
But Extremely weird and structurally confusing. Constantly shifts between reality and simulation—if you need clarity, this will exhaust you.
More like this (8)
Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011
Portraits a sushi master's pursuit of perfection through obsessive discipline and repetition. Same central question as this film: what does radical dedication cost, and is it worth it?
But Some find it overly reverent toward its subject. It doesn't interrogate whether his life choices were actually fulfilling or just compulsive.
The Act of Killing2012
Examines a closed world of violence and ideology by letting perpetrators direct their own story. Brilliant and disturbing—a completely different register, but equally searching about complicity and moral choice.
But Graphic descriptions of atrocity. Watching people perform and justify mass murder is profoundly difficult, and that difficulty is the point.
A Dark Song2016
A woman hires an occultist for a mysterious ritual in an isolated house. Gorgeously shot meditation on grief, faith, and whether we can transcend loss through ritual and discipline.
But It's a drama, not a documentary—some may feel misled. Also, very slow and emotionally demanding, with ambiguous payoff.
The Cave2019
Follows Afghan volunteers rescuing a soccer team trapped in a flooded cave. Harrowing real stakes, extraordinary willingness to endure hardship and danger for others.
But Intense trauma and body horror. Not a comfortable watch, and the stakes sometimes overshadow deeper character work.
Koyaanisqatsi1983
No dialogue, only music and imagery exploring how humans move through time and space. Abstract and hypnotic—captures the flow of time through rhythm rather than story.
But Completely experimental. Without conventional narrative or clear argument, it will feel like watching an experimental music video to some viewers.
First Reformed2018
A Protestant minister grapples with faith, duty, and whether spiritual discipline can address the world's suffering. Quiet, austere, morally rigorous—genuinely about what this film's subjects believe.
But Deliberately bleak and unresolved. Its spiritual questions go unanswered; if you need catharsis or uplift, you won't find it here.
Werckmeister Harmonies2001
Both use visual rhythm and long duration to explore how small communities create their own meaning. Both are formally patient in ways that match their spiritual concerns—the style itself enacts the discipline being examined.
A Hungarian town awaits the arrival of a mysterious whale in a truck. Shot in long, patient takes—a meditation on waiting, community, disruption, and meaning-making in a small closed world. Hypnotic and strange.
But Black and white, Hungarian dialogue, no plot in the conventional sense. Its bleakness and opacity will seem impenetrable or pretentious to many viewers.
Under the Silver Lake2018
The inverse of this film's monks: instead of voluntary isolation and discipline, a compulsive search for hidden order. Both explore why people retreat into systems—one spiritual, one paranoid—and how those systems can consume a life.
A young man descends into Los Angeles obsessively decoding symbols and pursuing hidden truths. Visually extravagant conspiracy thriller that's genuinely about the need for meaning and belonging in an isolating world.
But Bloated, maximalist, and ultimately frustrating—it luxuriates in its own mysteries without resolving them. Some will find it indulgent nonsense.
People
Directing
- Valentina PediciniDirector
Writing
- Valentina PediciniWriter
Production
- Donatella PalermoProducer