What puzzled me about the film was it´s surprising use of music. During the meals, which takes place in total silence, one from the staff puts on a record with lively Wienne waltzes. Apart from the strong contrast to the solemn and serious atmosphere, what reason could there be for this device? It seems quite odd to me and certainly not realistic.
shareMaybe the meals were seen as a time to take one's mind off of the serious matters of monastic life and relax. Of course, during those meals there was always some unspoken tension going on between Andrea and many of the other characters. The lively music enhances the contrast between the mood that the operators of the church were trying to create and the actual mood.
The contrast in mood created by the music is just a microcosm of the film's main contrast: that between the life these men are trying to create and the life that's right for them. The film is mainly trying to portray men forcing a certain lifestyle, resisting certain feelings and change, out of fear. Fear of a reality of which they perhaps have a weaker understanding than the lifestyle and ideology to which they cling. Fausto simply moves on with his life, not necessarily any wiser, while Andrea and Zanna actually break away from the fear of uncertainty.
The film is based on a time when Jesuit life was far more monastic, which it was never intended to be. Silence at meals is always a part of the Jesuit 30-day retreat which is done in the Novitiate (and that retreat time is somewhat captured by the film to some degree). During meals music is played and mostly enjoyed. There are times, however, when the space the person is in does not correspond to the music, but neither does the music of life always correspond to how I am feeling. You are right in saying that people are very much aware of each other, and during the 30-days a often strong bonds builds up between individuals, even though they are not verbally communicating with each other.
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