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Of Gods and Men

Des hommes et des dieux

France

2010

120 Min

Color

2.35:1

French

Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
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DIR Xavier Beauvois

PROD Etienne Comar

SCR Xavier Beauvois, Etienne Comar

DP Caroline Champetier

CAST Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Jacques Herlin, Sabrina Ouazani, Goran Kostić, Philippe Laudenbach, Xavier Maly, Jean-Marie Frin, Loïc Pichon

ED Marie-Julie Maille

PROD DES Michel Bartelemy

SOUND Jean-Jacques Ferran

Cannes (In Competition): Grand Prix, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Karlovy Vary (Open Eyes), New York, Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema), London (Galas & Special Screenings), Telluride, São Paulo (International Perspective), Stockholm (Spotlight), Vancouver, Athens (Premieres), Göteborg (Arabisk film)

Synopsis

A monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers.

When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay… come what may.

Director

Original

Xavier Beauvois

Xavier Beauvois (b. 1967, Auchel, France) is a French actor, screenwriter, and director. His film Don’t Forget You’re Going to Die (N’oublie pas que tu vas mourir, 1995) took the Prix Jean Vigo along with the Cannes festival’s Jury Prize. His generic diversity was confirmed by the unconventional crime drama The Young Lieutenant (Le petit lieutenant, 2005), with a Best Actress César going to Nathalie Baye for her performance in the film. In addition to his own directorial efforts, Beauvois has also worked as assistant to Manoel de Oliveira and André Téchiné, and acted in the latter’s film The Witnesses (Les témoins, 2007). He had a significant role in Benoît Jacquot’s Villa Amalia, which competed at KVIFF 2009. Of Gods and Men was presented in the main competition at Cannes, winning the Grand Prix. –KVIFF

Wall

Displaying 4 of 57 wall posts.

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danliofer

1Apr13

Just for the scene of a mutual respect between a Christian monk and a Muslim rebel it is worth watching... a really very powerful moment...

Picture of Equeco

Equeco

23Feb13

Outstanding performances and I guess it's that what I enjoyed the most about this film. However, unlike the majority, I did not feel touched and as somone else mentioned I felt pretty much an outsider most of the time. For some reason just couldn't connect with the story or bond with the characters.

Picture of Thirdi Canggi

Thirdi Canggi

4Nov12

Restored my faith in the goodness of religion and humanity.

WhatsUpWill likes this

Picture of Partha Banerjee

Partha Banerjee

14Oct12

A touching story of faith and redemption

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Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.

W184

On the Edge of the West: Close-Up on "Of Gods and Men"

By Duncan Gray on September 29, 2012

CLOSE-UP examines Xavier Beauvois’ exquisite drama Of Gods and Men, now playing on MUBI in the UK and Ireland.

read article

W184

Awards. Spirits and Césars

By David Hudson on February 26, 2011

Black Swan, lost in the media fray over what was supposed to have been a two-horse race to Oscar Night, is back, having just won four Film

read article

W184

Bresson, Dolan, Beauvois, les frères Farrelly

By David Hudson on February 25, 2011

"French critic Pierre Bergé said that you have to bring a belief to Diary of a Country Priest, in either heaven or in the cinema." Rob Humanick

read article

W184

NYFF 2010. Xavier Beauvois's "Of Gods and Men"

By David Hudson on October 8, 2010

"Based on the true story of a group of French monks who got caught up in the crossfire of the Algerian Civil War of the 1990s, Of Gods and

read article

W184

NYFF 2010. Keeping the faith: "Of Gods and Men" (Xavier Beauvois, France)

By Glenn Kenny on September 27, 2010

Neither a searing, transcendent masterwork nor a mere sampling of French cinematic vin ordinaire, Xavier Beauvois' latest feature is a

read article

W184

Cannes 2010. Awards

By David Hudson on May 23, 2010

Fantastic. "Surreal," says Apichatpong Weerasethakul. He's just won the Palme d'Or for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Grand

read article

W184

Cannes 2010. Ágnes Kocsis's "Pál Adrienn" + FIPRESCI and Ecumenical Awards

By David Hudson on May 22, 2010

The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) has announced the winners of the three awards it's presenting at Cannes this year

read article

W184

Cannes 2010. Favorite Moments: Day 7

By Daniel Kasman on May 21, 2010

Above: Léa Tissier in Young Girls in Black. Of Gods and Men (Xavier Beauvois, France) With Beauvois’ inspired, sober film, one of the growers

read article

W184

Cannes 2010. Xavier Beauvois's "Of Gods and Men"

By David Hudson on May 19, 2010

"One-time enfant terrible Xavier Beauvois has long been a respected presence on the French scene, making his name with dramas such as

read article

Lists

Displaying 5 of 236 lists.

Reviews

Displaying 4 of 8

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[Last Film I Saw] Of Gods and Men

By lasttimeisaw on March 19, 2012

English Title: Of Gods and Men
Original Title: Des hommes et des dieux
Year: 2010
Language: Arabic, French
Country: France
Genre: Drama, History
Director: Xavier Beauvois… read review

OF GODS AND MEN (Review)

By WhatsUpWill on April 14, 2011

OF GODS AND MEN (Xavier Beauvois, 2011)
When you want to see a movie that you already know the ending to, you anticipate that the film will analyze and observe the things that happened before the… read review

A clean, good, pure act of creativity

By Joshua Dysart on April 10, 2011

Incredibly meditative and full of grace. A cinematic prayer. It manages to celebrate both Christianity and Islam while still telling, in the quietest possible way, a story of extremism. The ease of… read review

Of Gods and Men

By peterbunzl on March 28, 2011

1995. A group of ten Catholic monks live in a hilltop monastery surrounded by impoverished Algerian villages. They provide much needed medicine and advice to the local Muslim community. Under threat… read review

Forum

Displaying 2 discussion topics.

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Of Gods and Men (2010): The Process of Dying to One's Self

27 posts by 5 people 8 months ago

"My complaint, really, is about the peculiar and growing irrelevance of world cinema in American movie culture, which the Academy Awards help to perpetuate." - A.O. Scott

84 posts by 20 people over 2 years ago