Review of Of Gods and Men (2010) by Kevin D — 17 Oct 2012

Very well made, very powerful, very well acted, and very intelligent. Sadly the deliberate pacing makes the movie very boring at times. It was refreshing to see a modern film be so old-fashionedly hands off with the cinematography. We get a real sense of time an place with the photography. The film uses lots of long takes and shots and movement with the camera is pretty limited. We get a good sense of what life as a monk is like. Scenes shot both outside and inside used natural lighting for the most part. Candles lit indoor scenes taking place at night. The sun lit scenes taking place outside. The DP was able to capture the vast landscapes. It was especially nice to see because we usually don't see these parts of France.

There were plenty of tense and powerful scenes, like when the rebels visited the monks on Christmas and violence was hinted at. The story is secondary here. This film is all about trying to get the audience in the world the film takes place in. The pacing encourages the audience to think about what they would do if they were in the same position of the monks.

You don't need to be religious to enjoy this film. It's clear that faith means a lot to the monks in the film and it's easy to see where they're coming from. In fact, I found myself agreeing with their decision of staying at the monastery despite the fact that they were surrounded by threats of violence on all sides. The ending of the film embraces several elements of Christianity and the ultimate conclusion haunted me. I can definitely admire this movie. The themes were resonant and the filmmaking was strong. The slow pace just makes it hard to watch at times.