Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. 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. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.
Trust me it is not. It is an emotional, heartbreaking, and divinely-acted film about faith, community and devotion. It's the kind of film arthouse theaters love to screen not merely because it is a subtitled French film, but because it is a worldly film that encourages dialogue and further exploration into the historical events portrayed. Check out Mark Burger's review and the trailer below.
Last year Of Gods and Men won the Gran Prix at Cannes...so look at it this way...while the celebrities and paparazzi are partying it up on the beaches of Cannes as I write...you can experience your very own Cannes Film Festival at a/perture...just add a glass of wine.
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