The Film: Of Gods and Men

Of Gods and Men (Original French title, Des hommes et des dieux) is a deeply moving and inspiring film. I decided to sit down and watch it on a quiet morning. I was prepared to watch it in several sittings. Why? Well, I always feel uneasy watching films of this kind. If I get too emotional, I could stop it and continuing watching it another time. I did stop it once. I am no novice; I have seen enough films of this type before such as The Killing Fields, The Mission, The Schlindler List, etc to know what I may see. But as the film progressed, I realized this is a different film. It finally dawns on me that this is not produced by Hollywood. (What was I thinking?!) There is no dramatic background music to excite one’s psyche, instead there is plenty of chanted prayer. It is a rather plain film. If there is any drama at all in this film, the drama would be its quiet revelation of human courage in the midst of threat and uncertainty. This film is about commitment to serve, not heroism.

This film is based on a true story. It is about eight French Christian Cistercian monks living in a mountain monastery in Algeria in 1990s, and their mission is to serve a small Muslim village. At the time when the country was terrified by an extremist Islamic group, this small group of Christian monks needed to decide whether to leave or to stay. In a mundane fashion, the film relates to many of us who have searched deep the meaning of living and the meaning of dying. The processes that brought these monks’ final decision to stay bring out one of the best dialogue and inner tensions human beings could have, with God and with one and another.

Another facet of this film is that it brings inter-religious communality to the foreground where Christians and Muslims live harmoniously side-by-side. There is no storage of bad memories concerning French colonial presence and the Muslims in Algeria. Some may argue these monks should have left long time ago. Yet, this group of monks lived out their mission in simplicity, modesty and charity. Everyday the monks studied the Koran and they participated in the religious ceremonies of their Muslim neighbours as one community; the Muslim villagers didn't want them to leave. This film is about living with one another in peace and with respect. It is possible to outdo the colonial past. The prior (leader) of this group, Christian, wrote a letter pre-meditating his death, which was read to us after the monks were being captured by the terrorists. In that letter, he spelled out beautifully how he understands the beauty of Islam and the nature of their call to service.

Despite telling a sombre story, this is an incredible and intelligent film. If I need to search one word to describe how I feel about it, it would be this: ordinary. This film is about ordinary people doing ordinary daily tasks; and it is filmed in such a way that communicates viscerally just that. But out of the unspectacular chores of daily life this film brings out the spectacular spirit of human love, service and dedication. For the love of God and of one another, the power of this film is its ability to inspire us to respect one another and to have courage to love even in unfavourable circumstances. It empowers religious communities to live out their mission in servanthood and love. This is a quietly powerful film.