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Thank you for your excellent, intimate protrayal of Swamiji. As you planned, you give a real sense of his spiritual quest, and you illustrate it beautifully.
Francis Clooney, SJ
Harvard University, Boston, USA * * *
Beautiful!
Mary Frances Coady
Author of Merton & Waugh: A Monk, A Crusty Old Man, and the Seven Storey Mountain, Canada * * *
My thanks for Dawn of the Abyss which helps me to better know Father H. Le Saux, ardent seeker of God alongside Father Monchanin, in the heart of the Hindu world!
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin
Archbishop of Lyon, France * * *
What a delightful film and great homage to Swamiji! Thank you so much for putting it together.
Jacod Riyeff, PhD
Marquette University, Milwaukee, USA Author of In the Bossom of the Father. The collected Poems of A Benedictine Mystic * * *
A magnificent documentary inspired by the life of the monk Henri le Saux. A hymn to the meeting between East and West. A call to dialogue between religions by way of interiority.
Chapelle pour l'Europe/Chapelle de la Résurrection, Brussels, Belgium
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It was a great moment or even a great spiritual shock, and I thank you very much. Beyond time, thanks to you, and no doubt, to what you live deep within yourself, seeing your film was for me a true spiritual experience.
Jacqueline Catalogne
Sociologist of religions, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris, France * * *
The film Dawn of the Abyss is a beautiful success. It was deeply appreciated for its cinematographic qualities (original music, camera shots with its magnificent colors of South India) as for its content, which transports us from one shore to the other thanks to this great trail blazer that was Henry Le Saux and immerses us in a contemplative state.
Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (MID Europe)
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Fabrice Blée's telling of this spiritual pioneer's story feels more like a meditation than a documentary. Silent spaces, beautiful scenery, peaceful music and various short interviews communicate something of Abhishiktananda's deep longing for God and the environment that called and supported him on his journey. It is a movie that anyone interested in mystical spirituality and inter-religious dialogue will appreciate. Highly recommended!
Philip St-Romain
Author of Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality, and director of Shalom Place Kansas, USA * * *
Thank you for this "plunge" that you allow by your film in this spirituality of full surrender, which, no doubt, marries different paths that all need each other not to absolutize themselves.
Gérard Siegwalt
Lutheran theologian and pastor, author of the Dogmatique pour la catholicité évangélique Strasbourg, France * * *
The Dawn of the Abyss captures the mystery of the awakening to the Self (Atman) within, which is the turning point in sādhana (spiritual quest). The message the film conveys is universal and timeless... It is my sincere hope that the “dawn” that Fabrice Blée has portrayed in this film, should ascend to the zenith of “high noon” in a sequel ..., in a fitting finale to the Abhishiktānanda saga.
Sudhakshina Rangaswami, Ph.D.
Fort Washington PA, USA Author of The Roots of Vedanta: Selections from Sankara s Writings * * *
Many thanks for making a beautiful film. The combination of aesthetic sensitivity and religious depth is powerful—which makes for a moving experience.
Jospeh Prabhu, Ph.D.
California State University, Los Angeles, USA * * *
Dawn of Abyss is a striking hymn to the thirst for the Absolute rooted in the depth of the human being, a call for dialogue between religions, the quest for a universal fraternity that goes through the path of interiority. A film to discover and to make known, absolutely!
City of Montbrun-Bocage, France
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Was it simply the music? Was it the hauntingly beautiful South Indian countryside? Or was it the profound words of Abhishiktananda (Father Henri Le Saux)? I honestly don't know. It was probably the confluence of all these things. Fabrice Blée's film, "The Dawn of the Abyss", left me speechless and with abundant tears in the eyes. An indescribable feeling of beauty and gratitude. This film is a spiritual Odyssey. It takes you to the threshold of geniune religious experience, beyond words and concepts. The film will echo with your spiritual longing and remind you that you too, are being called.
Adhyatma Yogi
Psychologist, Ottawa, Canada * * *
It's a gem of my video library. I enjoyed everything - very thoughtful scenario, comments, camera, editing, superb images of Arunachala and Breton monasteries, choice of quotations from Swamiji books, interconnections of text and image. I am very glad to have seen this film; thank you very much for having realized it.
Luděk Mikáč
Photographer, Czech Republic * * *
The film was thoroughly enjoyable… it is an extraordinary performance. The film has been made with impeccable savoir-faire. The viewer's attention was riveted on the screen from start to finish… A gifted cineaste can produce a few lengthy films on the French sage's books alone. Fabrice Blée's film is hardly exhaustive but says extremely well whatever it says. Having spent a good part of an hour with the Swami and his friend Marc in 1972 I am amazed how young Fabrice Blée who never saw Swamiji could bring him alive so effortlesly in this film.
K V Subrahmonyan
Hindu hermit, Tiruvannamalai, India * * *
Excellent!
Michael Highburger
Mountain Path Journal, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai (TN), India * * *
You have very well shown the progression of the "sinking in the Presence" of our dear Abhishiktananda. Congratulations!
Françoise Jacquin, author of L'abbé Monchanin, 1895-1957: à l'écoute d'un prophète contemporain
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It is a really great work!
Dr Christian Hackbarth-Johnson
Salzburg University, Austria * * *
The film is a great success... It was highly appreciated both for his cinematographic qualities (music, shots with its splendid colors of South India), and for its content, which transports us from one shore to the other thanks to this great pioneer that was Henri Le Saux, and immerses us in a contemplative state.
Convergence86
Poitiers, France * * *
The music and sounds are beautiful. I admired the fading of images, and especially the harmonious adaptation of images to words. It is an enchantment to see the realities signified by the words... It is as if the photographer was there at the right time to grasp on the spot what Le Saux lived through.
Jean-Gabriel Gélineau, OSB
Abbey of Sainte-Anne of Kergonan, Brittany, France * * *
It was a superb movie. I was touched. Compelling images and a fascinating narrative.
Dr. Mark Slatter
Faculty of Theology, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada * * *
It really is a beautiful film and every time I watch it, I get more and more out of the film on a personal/spiritual level. It is certainly a strength of the film, to be able to offer something deeper to look at and understand with each viewing.
Miles Finlayson
Producer/director, Endlessroad Productions, Pinegrove Productions, Toronto, Canada * * *
Remarkable footage and moving music, the audience was taken on a sensual ride into the twists and turns of this spiritual quest.
Coastal Breeze
Marco Island, Florida, USA * * *
In his search for God and self, Swami Abhishiktananda became a saffron-robed sanyasi who wandered through India seeking out its holy shrines and revered gurus. This visually stunning film invites us to accompany him not only on his travels to and throughout India, but on the interior journey that ultimately brought him to the cave of the heart, where both self and God are to be found. A visually stunning portrayal of a great 20th century mystic.
William Skudlarek, OSB
Dilatato Corde - International Journal, Collegeville (MN), USA * * *
An amazing film, well-mastered, telling the subversive journey of a wandering monk who found his destiny at the foot of an Indian sacred mountain. Striking images, clever staging and a enticing music support an implausible story. A film to see.
Jacques Ménard
Gatineau-Outaouais Film and Television Office, Canada * * *
Surprising and exquisite: the scenes in the film are not only beautiful: they are meaningful. Images and words play with each other: the visual illustrates the teaching of Henri Le Saux; the quotations from his writings explain the scenes. Fountains and waves, animals and birds and plants, people and temples reveal the symbolic nature of our world. As a result, the cave of the heart is opened. This movie is an important contribution to the genre of religious films.
Dr. John Dupuche
Australian Catholic University, and MCD University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia * * *
This documentary film of rare beauty and poetry introduces us to the heart of the spiritual experience of Henri Le Saux, experience of the call within, of the fullness of silence that seized him at the core of the Sacred Mountain Arunachala. The light and depth of the images direct the gaze towards the Essential beyond the signs and appearances, suggesting the mystery of the Presence of God in the world. The density of the texts stemming from the work of Henri Le Saux touches the heart, and announces the joy of "sinking in this Presence" which transcends all duality. A gripping hymn to the thirst of the Absolute inscribed in the depths of man, a thirst for "reaching the Mystery within," "beyond everything".
Carole Viturat
La Procure, Paris, France |