I did have a couple of naps, so I may have missed something, but there seemed to be no mention of the fact that the monastery produces the famous green liquer chartreuse. In the scene in the office, you could see some correspondence with liquor companies on the table, but that was it.
Just seems to be an odd omission.
When the beer made by St. Sixtus Monastery of Westvleteren, Belgium was named the world's best beer a couple years ago, the monks' spokesman as asked if they were going to increase production since the beer was frequently sold out, even before the publicity. His dry reply was "No. We make beer to be monks, we are not monks to make beer."
The story of Chartreuse liquer is has already been told elsewhere. And I don't think its important to life in the monastery of Grand Chartreuse. Both these reasons might explain its omission from the film. But I am guessing.
The filmaker did film the production of chartreuse, but said in an interview that the process of making it was very complicated and I think he felt that it would disrupt the flow of the film. the monks also do not consider it to be very important--it is simply a means by which they can make money to exist. However, in the same interview, the director said that he included the making of chartreuse in the DVD, presumably in an extra feature.
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There is a featurette on Chartreuse included as an extra on the 2-DVD set.
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I should warn you -- he's a Fourierist.
Well, then...I suppose I'll be buying that DVD!!!
Thanks for the heads-up, I can't WAIT to see that featurette.
(It might be a while before I can afford the trip to Voiron to see for myself, I'm afraid, so it'll have to do in the meantime, lol.)
I'm sure the film itself is fascinating -- until reading the imdb messageboard posts about it I'd only heard fantastic reviews of the film -- but I'll be honest, my primary interest in the film was its connection to my FAVORITE liqeur.
Glad to hear the DVD will cater to my tastes as well.
\m/
how famous is this famous liquer? I've never heard of it.
It's not THAT well-known currently (it's gone in and out of fashion numerous times), but those who enjoy it are avid followers.
For instance:
http://www.chartreuse.fr/pa_trivia_uk.htm
Thanks. Apparently it has its audience.
is it a drinker thing (I'm not much of a drinker)
or a europe thing (i'm in the US)
Or a rich people thing? Is the stuff expensive?
I've heard of Cointreau and Cinzano and absinthe ... various others ... but not this one.
Amongst drinkers, very famous, like Benedictine, another one made by monks.
Chartreuse (the color is named for it) comes in two strengths -- strong and stronger. At 80 and 110 proof it's the strongest widely distributed liqueur in the world. And it is expensive.
Oh yeah, it tastes wonderful.