CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Film Review: Award-Winning ‘Of Gods and Men’ Presents Devotion at Any Cost
Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – How many of us can honestly say that we have the level of devotion to anything that we would put our lives at risk to protect it? How many of us can say that when faced with almost certain violence, we would stand up and refuse to run in the other direction for any imaginable reason? The moral and spiritual dilemma at the foundation of Xavier Beauvois’s award-winning “Of Gods and Men” is a fascinating one that drives this complex drama in a way that sears it into memory.
“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” — Book of Psalms, Psalm 82: 6-7.
The first several shots of the true story of “Of Gods and Men” are purposefully framed from behind as the French monks of this Algerian monastery are introduced not only as nearly one body of motion and prayer but without the personality of facial features. There will be stand-out performances and individual characters, but it is the unity of these men to which the film will constantly return and it’s very subtly introduced in the opening moments without a single word. They are unified through their purpose.
Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Of Gods and Men” in our reviews section. |
That purpose is defined by the next several scenes, in which a doctor (the fantastic Michael Lonsdale of “Moonraker” and “Day of the Jackal”) delivers not just diagnosis but footwear to a local little girl. The monks are invited to a local coming-of-age ceremony. They are clearly not just liked by the residents of the Algerian town in which they reside but have become an essential part of the community, a rock of stability in an unstable land.
Just how unstable that land is will come to light when a few French workers are killed by invading terrorists and, like so many African and Middle Eastern countries, the area is thrown into disarray. When will the extremists get to the door of the monastery? And will the government protect the monks after they do?
Of Gods and Men
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classics