Of Gods And Men

"You'll outlive us all" Brother Luc tells the frail, elderly Amedee after a medical examination. In one of the numerous ironies peppering the film, he's ultimately proved correct. Although based on the true story of the murder of French monks in Algeria, that event itself is only related by an end title. The bulk of the film focusses on the daily lives of the monks and their harmonious interaction with the local villagers. The monastery provides a clinic, the monks sell honey at the market and they attend local festivities. There appears to be a mere handful of Christians who attend service so clearly conversion isn't a priority. The village elders express bewilderment and despair at the atrocities committed by militants in this unnamed country (the only act of violence we witness is the abrupt, brutal attack on a group of Croatian workmen, left with the throats slit) and the local government offers military protection to the monastery. It's really at the point that the film starts to reveal where its interest truly resides. Brother Christian refuses, only to later be rebuked by some of the other monks for making a decision that effects them all without consultation. The issue becomes: do the monks leave or do they remain? The national government wants the group to depart but the villagers want them to remain. As for the militants, the leader may or may not be protecting the monks after their encounter on Christmas Eve. The monks themselves are divided on the subject, and each must wrestle with his own conscience. Yet as Christian points out, they have all already given up their lives to God and it becomes clear that - despite family back in France - these men actually have no other life. There's no attempt at backstory though snatches appear here and there. Why should there be - that life is no longer important. The film homes in on their faces as they deliberate their individual fate, never more so than in the "Last Supper" sequence (another irony: the visiting monk from the diocese, who brings the supplies, will be in the wrong place, at the wrong time) It's not that they are portrayed as saints. No, it's clear they are very human, with all the quirks that involves: pride, doubt, fear, and yet they are also compassionate, intellectually curious, moderate. They have no wish to be martyrs but nor can they leave. That's the tragedy.