Review of Of Gods and Men (2010) by David H — 18 Jun 2011

Of Gods and Men is a beautiful portrait of the bond of brotherhood and faith in the face of fear and danger. The film is as slow paced and peaceful as the lives of the Christian monks whose experiences, based on real life events from 1996, it aims to chronicle. At times this slow pace, along with numerous scenes that in themselves do not seem to push the plot along, can be quite frustrating and, dare I say it, a little boring. However, the balance brought be moments of incredible tension, and the wonderfully moving moments of the monks as they come closer and closer to realising the dangers which they face, are compelling viewing.

This is not a popcorn movie but it is a film you should see, but not with someone who is likely to ask what is happening every five minutes, or who struggles to maintain silence for a couple of hours! After the film I watched a brief documentary of the real life events on which the real film was based. This gave me a real appreciation of the film, and helped explain some of the more random moments that were in fact based on events chronicled in letters to family from the monks in the weeks and months documented by the film.