Life During Wartime

Of Gods and Men

***1/2 out of ****

Directed by: Xavier Beauvois

Starring: Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach and Jacques Herlin

Running time: 120 minutes

It is one thing for a film to be timeless, and another for it to be timely; however, Of Gods and Men, a French film that won the Grand Prix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, marks that rare occasion when a motion picture encompasses both descriptions.

A group of devout men stand up to the religious persecution of an unstable power by sanctifying their belief and protecting their people: this is the timeless aspect, a tale of devout religious following that has been the subject for much folklore and history, from the Maccabees to the Counter-Reformation.

However, given the tumultuous state of recent affairs that have rocked the Middle East and Northern Africa, the events in Of Gods and Men feel especially resonant today. The film is based on real events, about a collective of Trappist monks in Algeria who stood up to an Islamist insurgency.

In the mid-1990s, the Armed Islamic Group rose up against their government after the ruling party’s military denied the victory of the country’s largest Islamist opposition party. They preceded to plan guerilla attacks against the ruling party and their supporters.

But, enough with the history, especially since Of Gods and Men doesn’t put its emphasis on the chronology of Algeria’s civil war. Instead, it is a haunting, humanizing, albeit lethargically paced account on how war can make men fraught but not tamper with his spirit (since the monks are entirely male, forgive the focus on just one gender).

The monks lived harmoniously with the Christian and Muslim populations in Algeria until the war came. When a surprise infiltration by the insurgents shakes up the spiritual congregants, there is a major dilemma: Should the monks risk their lives and stay in Algeria, continuing their prayers while offering hope to a stricken community, but in fear of death? Or should they leave, alive but losing their connection to the people who matter?

These important questions serve the crux of the film. On a few instances, we sit in on their group meetings as they discuss the benefits and consequences of an impending departure.

One of the monks, an aging man named Luc (Michael Lonsdale), runs a busy medical centre where he grants prescription drugs to poor families. If the monks leave, where will the townspeople get their medicine? Then, you get Christophe (Olivier Rabourdin), who disagrees, arguing that dying as a martyr is not a Christian imperative.

Although they have a prior, the aptly named Christian (Lambert Wilson, most familiar to Western audiences from his role in the Matrix sequels), he is having difficulty getting a group consensus. At the same time, he is trying to seek a deeper connection to faith within himself.

The daily rituals of this congregation provide the film’s structure – Caroline Champetier’s cinematography soaks in the austere monastery and serene gardens outside, while letting the camera remain still during the elegant rituals, especially the group prayer.

Director Xavier Beauvois chooses to return to the congregants chanting at several points throughout the film as a way to show how external factors are not binding the internal souls of these men. In one scene, a helicopter roars outside at a deafening volume, but the monks combat this by raising their voices and putting their arms around each other.

In perhaps the film’s most memorable sequence, the monks sit down for a dinner together after tensions have been mounting in the villages nearby. During their “Last Supper,” one of them puts on a record of Tchaikovsky’s "Swan Lake."

Beauvois employs the close-up, swallowing up each man and his reaction to the glorious, suspenseful music. As the song crescendoes, we see the monks become more conscious of their desire to remain strong and overcome the mounting fear.

Of Gods and Men is a war picture about two sides of religious extremism fighting each other. But, it doesn’t take place on the battlefield; instead, the conflict ranges in the spiritual belief of the citizens. It is not just one of the year’s best films, but also its most important thus far.