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Of Gods and Men (2010)

Director: Xavier Beauvois

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25 reviews

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From Time Out London

Should I stay or should I go? That’s the dilemma facing the eight French Cistercian monks in French writer-director Xavier Beauvois’s ‘Of Gods and Men’, which imagines life in an Algerian monastery in the mid-1990s as its inhabitants face a threat of violence from Islamic fundamentalists in their serene corner of the Atlas Mountains.

It’s a true story, the outcome of which would have been familiar to many, if not most, of the three million filmgoers who have flocked to see this quiet, thoughtful film since it opened in France in September. Outside France, there will be more of an element of surprise as these monks deliberate their future, negotiate with authorities, discuss their situation with villagers and maintain tense relations with members of the Islamist militia, all the while praying, singing, gardening, keeping bees and staying friendly with their rural neighbours.

‘Of Gods and Men’ deals in peril and danger and maintains a friendly grip on you over two hours as a thriller in a very minor key, but mostly this is a film about the journey, not the destination, as confirmed by Beauvois’s final, open image of the monks walking in the snow. It’s about ageing French men, removed from home, in a strange and comforting landscape, going about their rituals and trying to find a common response to a common problem. The way it dramatises anxieties, expressed and unexpressed, is enthralling and quietly provocative, and although the film mostly operates within a strictly realist framework, it offers the odd hint of greater powers at work such as when we see a monk praying by a lakeside and a flock of birds sweeping above him or a threatening army helicopter disappearing as the monks resolutely sing indoors, as if, somehow, repelling the chopper above with their strength and faith.

Lambert Wilson heads a largely grey-haired and finally very endearing ensemble cast as Christian, the monks’ practical, strong leader. The group’s singing and praying punctuate the film, yet Beauvois and co-writer and producer Etienne Comar make strong efforts to sketch a portrait of each monk. Among them, there’s Luc (Michael Lonsdale), a doctor who holds surgeries for villagers and has a wry, sensitive manner; Christopher (Olivier Rabourdin), the youngest of the bunch and the least sure of his faith; and Amédée (Jacques Herlin), the oldest and a gentle, fragile presence.

So sober, so measured is most of the film, similar in its meditative air to Philip Gröning’s documentary ‘Into Great Silence’, his 2005 portrait of a French Carthusian monastery, that you feel as decadent as the monks when, near the film’s end, they enjoy wine and listen to a tape of the Dying Swan from ‘Swan Lake’. Beauvois, too, lets his hair down for this scene, indulging in a series of close-ups of the monks’ faces, some smiling, some tearful.

It’s a curious scene. Inevitably, we think of the Last Supper, but it’s also striking that the monks combat their fear with the secular pleasures of wine and music alongside prayer and song. It stresses that Beauvois and Comar want to show these monks as men, with human fears and desires. They’re neither sages nor heroes. They waver, they worry, they have pragmatic, as well as spiritual, reasons for staying in Algeria, and one or two may even hide under the bed when danger comes knocking. The wine-and-music scene is also the final stage in the film’s portrait of the coming together of these monks whose main struggle, the film suggests, is finding a way of agreeing and collaborating in the face of danger.

‘Of Gods and Men’ is a parable that has as much to say about life within a community as it does about relations with those outside it, such as the Muslim villagers, the fundamentalists and the authorities with whom the monks try to find an accord. Beauvois and Comar have made a realist piece, with documentary stylings and spiritual leanings, and one which hints at a wider relevance without laying on thick its message of brotherhood and reconciliation.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out London Issue 2102: 2 – 8 December, 2010

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User reviews of this film

Trina said...

Posted on Jun 26 2011 15:28 Simply beautiful. I thought it slow at first and took a break but the second half, especially the exquisite 'last supper' brought me to tears. Deeply moving.

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Dan M said...

Posted on Apr 25 2011 19:16 An extraordinary invitation to look inside ourselves and ask what meaning we can bring to ours and others lives. The film's quietness, gently beautiful landscapes, and deliberate pacing give the viewer an opportunity to pose the same life-affirming questions to herself or himself that the characters are dealing with. It can be an experience that guides you well beyond the theater if you are open to it.

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luaka said...

Posted on Apr 18 2011 00:10 Disaster! It is not cinema - it is like bad commercial - brainwashing. There is certainly nothing human about the film because there is no inside, only outside. It is stupid, shallow, it is trash. Like Jennifer Lopez in music. So it is this TimeOut review.

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Marek said...

Posted on Mar 17 2011 15:35 This ia a slow, but throughly engrossing and though-provoking film. If you want to see an action-thriller, this is NOT the film for you. The acting is beautifully done, as is the direction. It makes a refreshing change to see a film which puts faith into its proper context, and does not appear didactical. It is on a par with The Gospel According To Saint Matthew, by Pasolini. It is certainly not a no-brainer, like many of Cecil B. DeMilles nonsense. Go and enjoy the film, it is worth seeing.

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ian walton said...

Posted on Feb 13 2011 08:22 vacuous...at one hour it would be overstaying its welcome at two hours its just a sad joke

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Wayne Kitcat said...

Posted on Jan 28 2011 21:42 This is film which is truly uplifting, It moves at the pace monks live, it is not a thriller. It avoids histrionics, and dramatic music, the silence and relative lack of speach is part of the way of life of Trappist monks. They do not shout and scream. It is a beautifully crafted and produced film that conveys absolutely the feelings that the monks must have had, towards what became increasingly unavoidable death. They did not seek matyrdom, but chose to stay to support the village that needed them, as one villager says 'we are the birds of passage you are the branch". A totally moving and absorbing film.

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rodge said...

Posted on Jan 26 2011 23:21 The performances were excellent but sadly overwhelmed by the achingly slow progress. I know we have to build the mood but after the forth or fifth long prayer or hymn I felt I was in an eclesiastical lock-in. Rather dreary.

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Anna said...

Posted on Jan 21 2011 12:46 Utterly beautiful, from the delicate use of landscape and colour, the finely delineation of character undergirded by enormous moral power. It gave me much to think about: is it possible to live a life of defiant love, as the monks did, outside the context of a monastery? Is it possible for anyone who chooses it?

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Anthony said...

Posted on Jan 20 2011 16:21 A truly great love story, according to the rule of St Benedict. Christopher and his young helper, seeding the fields, offer a glimpse of worldly love. "What's it like to be in love?", she has asked the ageing doctor, Brother Luc'. "Attraction, desire," he replies honestly, "then I found a higher love.">

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peter ford said...

Posted on Jan 03 2011 21:40 A poerful and gripping film, with great characterisation and acting. The interplay of the various personalities is remarkable. The setting is beautiful, threatening and haunting.

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Neville said...

Posted on Dec 30 2010 08:48 The broad contemplative sweep of this quietly powerrful film is breathtaking. Over the course of two unhurried hours, we penetrate deep into the twin mysteries of faith and human empathy in a small monastic community. Absolutely wonderful, and all the more powerful for leaving the final scene to the imagination.

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Emily said...

Posted on Dec 29 2010 21:41 A wonderful film. Beautiful and thought provoking. The characterisation of the monks was perfect with all playing such credible parts. I was utterly transfixed from beginning to end. A true materpiece>

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Susie said...

Posted on Dec 29 2010 20:09 Moving and marvellous. An different and excellent film.
The scene of close-ups, enjoying their last supper, drowning in the beautiful Dying Swan music was stunning. Amen

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Joe said...

Posted on Dec 28 2010 22:59 Dull, tedious and no intellectual discussion of the issues. It is a travesty to compare with the film 'Into Great Silence.' Agree totally with Peter Dodd and Maz.

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peter dodd said...

Posted on Dec 28 2010 20:36 Funereal, uninvolving; when the French do pompous, they do it in spades. However it exposes the poseur critics who have praised this dull stew.

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