In 2005, an unusual documentary made headlines: THE GREAT SILENCE (2005) by Philip Gröning. The film shows the life of the monks of the Carthusian monastery La Grande Chartreuse in France. The monks are silent. For the most part, the film is silent as well. The film is a one hundred and sixty-one minute long meditative essay, was read in the film reception (Filmbulletin 9.05). In the context of this thesis, the film THE GREAT SILENCE is analyzed in terms of religious studies. As a category of analysis serves the term spirituality . This term is used with different meanings in the monastic as well as in the free religious context. Based on the thesis that the film contains aspects of religious theology as well as of free religious or popular spirituality, the aesthetics of the film will be examined. The theoretical framework of the analysis will be.