AlFabrizio This film is very well produced and acted. It's quite easy in fact to forget that these are actors and feel that you've been invited into the confines of the monastery and the experience of these cloistered monks. This is accomplished, in part, because of the heavy emphasis on the liturgical life of the monks. A deeply spiritual film, it is uncompromising in it's depiction of the life of a cloistered monk, putting the life of Catholic prayer and it's spiritual dimensions at center screen. The process that the monks go through as they deliberate the threat that they face is deeply informed by Christ and his passion. And while there is no way to really capture the inner reality of a group of eight men devoted entirely to God as they go through this traumatic time, I think the film does a great service to what happened (it is based on actual events). Despite having different motives, different levels of religious fervor and sometimes conflicting desires towards self-preservation, the focus on perseverance in service to the community (despite being cloistered Trappists, who take an oath of silence, and generally do not make an active ministry)is deeply humanizing. This is the kinds of film, I think that Western society needs and helps remind us, even as we slide ever more deeply into pointless self-interest, that our highest values and finest aspirations coalesce when we are centered in service to the one who made us.

ElMaruecan82 A close-to-universal acclaim, a 10-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Festival and as the most profitable French movie, no one saw 'Of Gods and Men" coming in 2010, but everyone eventually went to see it."Of Gods and Men" is the cinematically sober yet emotionally powerful chronicle of one of the saddest chapters of the Algerian Civil War in the 90's: the assassination of seven monks in the Atlas Mountains by an Islamist group that has nothing to envy from today's routinely barbarity that shake the Middle East without that generating much reaction. The mention of the context is crucial because any misinformed viewer might misunderstand the story's purpose and take it as another illustration of the Islam's innate barbarity. Indeed, this is one of these movies that might be appreciated for the wrong reasons.So, it's all to the credit of director Xavier Beauvois to play fair with the facts and not portray the crime as an isolated one, it's a part of a whole barbaric chain of events that blindly touched the whole of ALgeria. 1996 and 1997 were perhaps the darkest years of its history as hundreds of thousands of civilians, generally villagers were mercilessly killed and in the most gruesome way, hatchets, throat slit, and so forth. Of course, it would take half the review to enumerate the causes of these movements, the mujaheddin in Afghanistan sponsored by the CIA, and whose faction from Algeria had time to make their bones before coming back to Algeria, where the cancellation of the Islamist party rung like a Declaration of War.I think this secretly sponsored extremism is the real core of the problem (look at ISIS now), more than the tormented post-colonialism relationships. The citizenship of these monks had no more relevance than for the Croatian workers who were savagely assassinated under the sight of a poor Algerian. The only relevance the Algerian War might have is that Christian, the prior priest, played by Lambert Wilson, was a former military, who served in the War and thought he had to stay in order to establish some sort of reconciliation. But Xavier Beauvois doesn't waste the script to analyze each one's backstory, it's about eight priests who know their lives are at stakes, and must make a choice: leaving or dying.It's a story of an ethical conflict. The monks belong to a Cistercian order and they made a vow of stability. The threat is like the test of their own faith. Of course, the vow of stability mustn't be at the expenses of their own lives; the sacredness of life, let alone of these eight men, measure up to higher levels than the strict obedience to their vows. But the monks found God in the Atlas Mountains, they fulfilled their duty by providing medical care to the villagers, Michael Lonsdale, plays Luc, the elderly priest and doctor of the group. They also insist on not interfering with people's faith. In fact, Michel is as literate on Quran as on the Bible.The rest of their time consists on religious chants, prayers and deep contemplation. Still, Xavier Beauvois never tries to make them look pretty on the screen. No traveling or other shots, its mainly steady fixes where all you have to do is contemplate the monks, and watching them, absorbed by their thoughts and their doubts. This is a great choice as it allows the movie to embrace the very lifestyle of their protagonists, and allow us, as viewers to penetrate the moral conflict that drives the narrative. These stoic moments then becomes the foil to more powerful and thrilling scenes where they all discuss whether they should leave because of the threats. And they don't share the same views at all.Of course, the film isn't just all talking and contemplation and features many strong interactions with the Algerian people, from the military people who asked them to leave for their own good to the terrorists themselves. It's not one of these moments where you're wishing for the good guys to take the right decision, but where you understand what lies behind these very decisions. Why does Luc give medicine to terrorists? Why does he pray for the soul of one of them murderers? Why do they ignore the warning of the Army, exasperated to see them helping the terrorists? Well the answers to these questions are not given, but simply illustrated by their decision to stay. Their life has a meaning, and so will their death. It all leads to the point where the monks interpreted the threat as some test from God, as if it gave its full meaning to their presence in Algeria. Religion is all made of symbols, and they didn't just look at the risks, but at the way they perceived their duty on Earth, as if soul-preservation counted more than life. …. And that very soul they preserve is of the Christ. It's like the mystery of the incarnation finally revealing some of its mysteries. This is one of the few metaphysical moments of the film, but it's immediately followed by its beautiful emotional climax, a last dinner that carries the same resonance as Jesus' last supper; with the music of "Swan Lake" in the background.After having kept a restrained tone all through the film, shooting at respectful distance, we finally get the luxury of close-ups and music, as we can see these monks in full faces, smiling and shedding a few emotional tears, not because they just defied barbarity, it's not about proving their worth as soldiers as God, it's not even about testing the empathy required by their faith to its most sincere limit. It's because they're finally in peace with themselves.At a time where you couldn't necessarily triumph in the war against barbarity, you could at least be in peace with yourself, and that was enough a victory.

Hitchcoc I was surprised to see that some of the reviewers bring their politics to criticize this film. One claims it is really left wing. Interesting, since the right seems to be the one with the most fanatical base. I am not a particularly religious person, but I have no trouble showing respect for those whose religion is based on service and compassion. These Trappist monks have a choice. To follow the teachings of their God or leave behind those who they have served and who depended on them. There is little discussion, despite terrorists sweeping through Algeria. There is great tension when the traditionally powerless are faced with the (and I use this term for effect) godlessness of the terrorists. These are good people who never expect anything from their neighbors, who are predominately Muslim. The down side of this movie is that we all know exactly how it is going to end. It is also rather dramatic in its portrayal. Closeup are a significant part of filmmaking but the contrived scene of "the last supper" (lower case for me) is a bit over the top. It was hard to put aside my own prejudices as I watched this.

l_rawjalaurence The plot is fairly straightforward: a group of monks in war-torn Algeria have to decide whether to leave - and thereby ensure their survival - or stay, as their way of life has been threatened by a group of insurgents. What gives Xavier Beauvois' film its extraordinary power is the way in which it shows how some human beings cannot be brow-beaten into doing anything they don't want to. The monks have nothing on their side except the power of prayer and an unshakable faith in God, but they make the best of these qualities to put up stern resistance. Compared to them, the insurgents are presented as unsubtle, believing as they do that the gun can persuade anyone to do anything. As the elected leader of the monks, Lambert Wilson's Christian is just brilliant; his expression seldom changes, but we understand the power of his resolve. The supporting performances are equally good, especially Jacques Herlin as Amédée, one of the oldest monks who doubles up as a doctor caring for members of the community around him. Director Beauvois makes subtle use of Gregorian chant to point up the theme of the movie. What I particularly like about OF GODS AND MEN is its refusal to make generalizations; it does not posit Christianity as being in any way superior to other religions (e.g. Islam), but suggests instead that any religion should be a force for peace rather than a pretext for violence.