AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

theman-08533 Some IMDb reviews complain this movie is slow. They are right, but fail to understand that the slowness is in the service of the story. These are men that choose to lead a life of routine and work and service. They choose a life in which each day follows the previous, and meaning comes from curing wounds in small children and selling honey in the local market so they can heal more wounds tomorrow.Some reviewers say nothing really happens in this movie. Apart for a bunch of murders and the monks' bravery and despair, they are right. The monks seem passive. They foolishly choose to die rather than flee. They surrender their lives to the will of the God they believe in and the love of the community they have served for a hundred years. Is that dumb?Was that the right thing to do? What purpose did their sacrifice serve? What if they had fled? What would the rest of their lives been like? I love it when a movie makes me truly think. This one did.

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.

samkan 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."

frjacksjmd One can react to a film in many ways including: intellectually, viscerally, emotionally, cognitively, spiritually and aesthetically. One's reaction to a particular film is the result of complex interactions of all of the above and the characteristics of the film itself. Certain films are more likely to bring out particular types of reactions. This film works on many levels and will draw out complex and individual responses from each viewer. My responses were heavily influenced by my being a member of Catholic men's religious order that has a long (and ongoing) history or missionary work that, at times, puts our men in danger. This was true in the centuries since our founding and remains true for a number of my friends who are working "undercover" in several countries. I first watched Of Gods and Men with another member of the order who had already seen it but wanted to share the video and the experience with me. We watched on a small not very good TV with wretched sound. But within moments of the opening all of that faded away. When it was over I sat in the dark room stunned. I know several Trappist monks. I admire their lives and occasionally retreat at one of the their monasteries. While their vocation to contemplative monastic life is not my vocation, the bond of being in religious vows allows us to share something fundamental and vital. I was stunned when I read about the killings in Algeria and followed the story closely in the papers. Before watching the film I read the very well-written The Monks of Tibhirine that supplied some back story and biographical information that was not included in the film, a great deal about the history of Islamic fundamentalism in Algeria and much history of the French in Algeria. The scenes during which the men were discerning God's will, both as a community and individually, ring true. The lack of consensus, the bickering, the fear, the acceptance and the gradual movement of the Spirit are the same for all orders when they engage in corporate discernment emerging from each member's individual discernment. Though forewarned by my buddy, the scene of Swan Lake playing in the refectory was emotionally wrenching. The looks on the men's faces as the music swirled and the sense of community returned could never be described in words. I've been as deeply moved and emotionally drained each time I've watched the movie since (about four times since the initial viewing a year ago). Quibbles about the lack of action are absurd. That is not the kind of life we lead as religious. Prayer, Mass, and contemplation (even in an active order) are the backbone of our lives together and as individuals. The combination of the honesty of the portrayals of the men's and the community's spiritual crises along with the sublime cinematography combine to make this an extraordinary film on all levels.