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.

Of Gods and Men starts out rather softly and rather reeks out the lonesomeness of the monastery. Then the story builds up well, with repeated moments of heightened tensions and subsequent moments of slow down. That way the story being told can be viewed as one not so scary. In a way, the movie succeeds in telling the story from the perspective of the monks themselves who have surrendered their lives to God long before they meet death. The movie portrays the relationship between the monastery and the surrounding community very nicely, in a way that many fanatics will get disgruntled with. The acting is a nice overall. The aura of stillness is balanced between all the monks, despite the varying levels of fear, tranquility and or anxiety among the characters.

This was another one of those French films that without reading about it in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die I would never have heard or probably cared about, and besides the recommendation I was looking forward to seeing a James Bond film star. Basically a group of monks in a monastery are interrupted while making peaceful prayers, performing medical assistance and interacting with the community when there is a threat be an Islamic fundamentalist group. Christian (Lambert Wilson) the elected leader of the monks refuses protection of authority who are known to be corrupt, the monks split on the decision as to whether to stay in the monastery or flee to Algeria, but before the decision is made Ali Fayattia (Farid Larbi) and his group of fundamentalists demanding a doctor and medical supplies. Christian requests the requests of Fayattia and his group, who leave the compound in peace, but before he can grant protection on it he is captured, tortured and killed by government forces, and despite the danger and potential death they are faced with the monks stick with their morals and maintain their commitment to their religion and the local people. During a night time raid the terrorists ultimately seize control of the monastery, capturing the monks and holding them hostage, they are forced to walk a snowy path toward their fate, and the conclusion sees some words written by one of them, bravely made out before faced with death. Also starring Moonraker's Michael Lonsdale as Luc, Olivier Rabourdin as Christophe, Philippe Laudenbach as Célestin, Jacques Herlin as Amédée, Loïc Pichon as Jean-Pierre, Xavier Maly as Michel, Jean-Marie Frin as Paul, Abdelhafid Metalsi as Nouredine, Sabrina Ouazani as Rabbia, Abdallah Moundy as Omar, Olivier Perrier as Bruno and Adel Bencherif as Terrorist. I will first admit that most of the film was hard to follow, by I just about got that monks were against terrorists, but to be honest I liked the slower moments of the film, the talks amongst the religious men, including the memorable simply music scene featuring "Swan Lake" by Tchaikovsky, so with just enough thrilling moments like death and some interesting quieter sequences it adds up to a watchable drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Film not in the English Language. Good!

By my title I mean one needn't be religious to appreciate this film. I watched it in three forty minute sessions on consecutive nights. I recommend such viewing because the dialog really needs to be absorbed and the movie lacks the thrills, suspense, etc., that lesser two-hour movies rely on. It's kind of like a classroom that you have to come back to after being refreshed and with a lesson you have allowed to sink in after a day. If I may give it away, the individual Trappist monks, in their sessions with Christian, each give convincing arguments for their decision to stay the course. Again, you need not be a believer. The key teachings of this film are of conviction and the need to give meaning to one's life. Courage is merely a by-product of this exercise of this conviction. Pacifism really has little to do with the group's motivation and tragic end. I can only do justice to OF GODS AND MEN by quoting Keats, "Beauty is truth and truth, beauty."