Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The film explores love as truth and not so many of the false ways it has been tagged through the years. The is the love at the highest level of consciousness, the holistic height of spiral dynamic's human development scale. It's no surprise that critics see it as a story of religious fundamentalism and all of the unfavorable things it implies. It is hardly a perfect piece of film making. It could stand editing in several places, reduce its length, and provide a better understanding as to what was going on in the civil war in Algiers in the 1990s, when a monastery was seen as a colonial intrusion. The film was not short on excellent performances by its old actors, and beautiful photography of what I understand was actually Morocco. But the chief achievement of the picture lies in its depiction of the power of trans-personal spirituality and what that means in shaping lives and conditions.

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.

"Of Gods And Men" a.k.a "Des hommes et des dieux" is a French film that centers on the monastery of Tibhirine.During the civil war in Algeria in 1996,nine Trappist monks lived in harmony with a largely Muslim population until seven of them were kidnapped and died to unknown circumstances.It features a cast led Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale.The title of the movie was taken from Psalm 82:6–7 that states, "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."It was also loosely based on the experiences of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.This is a touching movie about a group of monks who live ordinary lives that goes through a tough test when the civil war in Algeria happened.Their faith was tested when they were kidnapped by religious extremists and they have shown they are willing to give their life for God and for self-sacrifice when religious violence occurred.It was also a good spiritual film that is compelling as it will allow the viewer to undergo self-introspection especially when it comes to their spiritual life and how much as they willing to sacrifice when it comes to God and this aspect of this life. It also deals very well with the negative effects of the hate that people have for each other due to differences in spiritual beliefs.Overall,we are treated to a good film about spirituality and religious hatred.

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.