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Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach, Jacques Herlin ... see more see more... , Loic Pichon , Xavier Maly , Jean-Marie Frin , Abdelhafid Metalsi , Sabrina Ouazani , Abdallah Moundy , Olivier Perrier , Farid Larbi , Adel Bencherif

Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic ... read more read more...fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay... come what may. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996. -- (C) Sony Pictures Classics

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75% liked it

13,678 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

109 critics

PG-13, 2 hr.

Directed by: Xavier Beauvois

Release Date: February 25, 2011

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DVD Release Date: July 5, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (799)

  • emilebond007
    February 25, 2011
    emilebond007
    This movie, as beautiful as it is, still presents some dumb technical flaws and the story left me pretty cold, perhaps because I think religion is evil, but I believe something went wrong in the development of the characters. There was a way to get me to understand their motives... read more and it failed to do so. It is not by showing me a man planting seeds that the movie will get me to sympathize with the character.

    As good as this movie was, I don't think it deserves all the praise, for this movie offers too much religious points of view and, in the end, fails to keep any rational humanity for itself.
  • Alireza64ir
    February 7, 2011
    Alireza64ir
    It's one of those movies you can talk about it for days.Disturbing and thoughtful,brought up again unanswered questions about god,religion and philosophy of life.Cannes Grand Prize winner which is better movie than Golden Palm winner Uncle Boonmee.
  • blacksheepboy
    November 19, 2010
    blacksheepboy
    A wonderful film that moved me to tears and left me completely speechless. The story, based on real events, is developed in a perfect slow pace, taking the necessary time to present us to each one of the characters and their lives together, and make us truly care about them and t... read morehe tense situation they find themselves in.
  • fb1619601747
    March 16, 2012
    fb1619601747
    Meditative and contemplative; a thought provoking masterpiece.
  • gator681
    March 20, 2011
    gator681
    In the 1990's, a group of eight French monks go about their daily business of prayer and study in a monastery in Algeria. Brother Luc(Michael Lonsdale) runs a clinic for the local villagers. In order to support the monastery, the monks harvest honey which they sell at market. ... read moreBut events in country threaten the fragile peace, starting with the murder of teenage girls and a teacher for talking about true love. Things take a frightening turn for the monks when Croatian workers are brutally killed, leading some to believe that westerners are now being targeted. However, Brother Christian(Lambert Wilson), their elected leader, refuses military protection, to the anger and consternation of his fellow monks who are starting to discuss a possible evacuation.

    Based on a true story, "Of Gods and Men" is a subtly powerful and immensely moving film with a great use of silence that deftly shows the differences between the devout and the fanatical who thrive on ignorance.(When the terrorists come to raid the monastery, they first ask for the Pope.) The monks, many of whom have been there for decades, provide valuable services that the government does not, and are not out to convert, unlike the fanatics.(And it is an accurate assessment that the monks cannot work with the military there, as the people fear them for different reasons than the terrorists.) As one villager puts it, the monks are the branch on which the villagers rest and are invited to village celebrations. That also goes to the movie's main point of there only being one god, of many names, as it does not matter what you call him. Christian studies the Koran which impresses Ali Fayattia(Farid Larbi), a terrorist leader. As he bravely stands up to him, Christian is visibly trembling, symbolizing the resolve of the other monks, even as they are partially consumed by their fear and doubts.
  • fb796967648
    March 2, 2011
    fb796967648
    Serious-minded adult entertainment about Big Ideas is hard to come by, and OF GODS AND MEN certainly delivers on all those levels. But is it entertaining? I honestly don't know. Don't get me wrong; I like movies that challenge intellectually as much as emotionally - and I like... read more this film. But in telling the story of an incredibly fascinating group of monks dealing with terrorists in Algeria in the '90's (true story), I often felt that I should be more compelled by the story, and not just appreciative of its existence. Well acted, well shot, but also in the end, I might've been just a little . . . well . . .
  • fb20312798
    August 29, 2011
    fb20312798
    The plot would suggest a sappy and predictable story filled with swelling music and hammy performances, and while the film belabors its point quite often its actually very understated. As a quiet meditation on the courage of a few monks, it works.
  • merlynsprankling
    June 9, 2011
    merlynsprankling
    Of God's and Men is a film with only the sound of Gregorian chants and the bustle of natural life for a soundtrack. Dialogue is sparse but what is said resonates all the more for the silence and it moves at a meditative pace that only serves to heighten the tension as the film pr... read moreogresses.

    Written and directed by Frenchman Xavier Beauvois, the flick is loosely based on the lives of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria and their capture by terrorists in 1996. The Cistercian monastery had been in Algeria since colonial days and, although there were fewer than 10 monks living there in the 1990's, they were still part of village life. They dedicated their lives to study, prayer and manual labour for their survival. Their mission was not to evangelise but to offer witness to their Christian faith in a region where the majority of people were muslim.

    In 1996, the conflict between Jama Islamiah and the Algerian government is intense. After a local group of Croatian workers is murdered by terrorists, the government sends the army to protect the monastery. Brother Christian (Lambert Wilson) who appears to be the most scholarly of the brothers (he writes and thinks most profoundly on matters of faith and theology, and has read widely, including the Koran, so his understanding of the 'villagers' faith is well informed) resolutely opposes the protection, which puts him at odds with some of the other brothers, who argue that he has violated the rules of the community by not discussing the decision with them, nor confronting the larger question of whether their life of witness extends to the ultimate sacrifice at the hands of terrorists.

    Finally, Brother Christian asks each monk what he would like to do. The group is divided but the oldest monk, Brother Amadee (Jacques Herlin), believes "it is too soon" to reach a conclusion. At this point, when the villagers, some of the monks, the local politician and the army believe it is time for the monks to leave, it seems impossible that by the end of the film the audience is so convinced of the rightness of their decision to stay.

    The pace of the film reinforces the complexity of a life of faith and deep spirituality. The slow unveiling of a change of heart and mind, the slow realisation and acceptance of the purpose in a spiritual life of work and meditation is, at times, overwhelming. The story itself is compelling, but the way in which it is told by Beauvois and performed by the cast is inspired.
  • danieljparsons
    May 3, 2011
    danieljparsons
    Beautiful and moving film with an especially heart-rending sequence set to the music of Swan Lake. Slow paced but involving, with natural performances and stunning photography. Important themes are explored subtly, and there are no easy answers.
  • fb1245361650
    March 27, 2011
    fb1245361650
    A fragile, quiet, beautiful true story of a brotherhood of 8 monks who are faced with a life-changing dilemma. Either leave their beloved village for fear of being massacred by Islamic fundamentalists in the region, or stay and risk being kidnapped. A wonderfully reflective medit... read moreation on martyrdom and an exploration of faith and fellowship, this film achieves being a modern-day 'Schindler's List' by excluding the melodrama, having a perfect acting ensemble, and writing that makes one really love these characters, without cliche. A truly perfect film. I cried multiple times.

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Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones
August 10, 2011
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Alternately harrowing and humbling, this is a story of ordinary men whose compassion is tested in the cruelest, most profound fashion. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
July 28, 2011
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Beauvois takes his time limning the daily rhythms of the monastery, lingering on its most lyrical and sensuous moments, so that when violence finally reaches its gates the effect is all the more chill... Full Review

Tom Long
April 8, 2011
Tom Long, Detroit News

The film, directed by Xavier Beauvois, moves back and forth between the monks doing their daily chores and the decisions they must face as a group. Full Review

Roger Moore
April 6, 2011
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Quietly compelling if not particularly emotional and sober-minded... Full Review

Steven Rea
March 17, 2011
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Beauvois' camera is watchful and unobtrusive, panning the monastery and its spartan rooms, documenting the brothers' quotidian tasks, but also the modest ritual, the beauty, the illumination. Full Review

Ty Burr
March 17, 2011
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

The air that "Of Gods and Men'' breathes is so clean and so cold that it feels like a fresh beginning. Full Review

Colin Covert
March 17, 2011
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Of Gods and Men" is a quiet, austere film that is more electrifying than a dozen action movies. Full Review

Roger Ebert
March 11, 2011
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I found myself resisting the film's pull of easy emotion. There are fundamental questions here, and the film doesn't engage them. Full Review

David Germain
March 10, 2011
David Germain, Associated Press

The monks don't speak their minds often, but when they do, the actors infuse their utterances with bottomless grace and humility yet very human dread and doubt. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
March 3, 2011
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

This is a beautiful film, full of gray- and white-haired men who grow in stature before our eyes. Full Review

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    • Luc: I'm not scared of terrorists, even less of the army. And I'm not scared of death. I'm a free man.
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  • In which of the following films has Mathew Broderick not featured?  Answer »
  • "___________, only two kinds of creatures get fun in the desert: Bedouins and gods, and you're neither. Take it from me, for ordinary men it?s a burning, fiery furnace." "No, Dryden, it's going to be fun." (Hint: Peter O'Toole is in this movie.)   Answer »
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