For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Of Gods And Men
The Impression:
I came in to Of Gods and Men knowing only that
acclaimed director Xavier Beauvois was garnering another
round of accolades for his depiction of monks beset by
terrorists in some unknown country. Not much more needs to
be said.
The Reality:
Of Gods and Men is a quiet, stunning film. The film,
based on the disappearance of a group of Trappist monks in
an "impoverished Algerian community" chooses wisely to focus
on the monk’s choice not to flee their community, rather
than the greater shock-an-awe storyline of the terrorists
capturing and beheading of the monks. Beauvois turns his
camera towards the final moments of these quiet heroes lives
and the drama stems not from the impending horror that is
slowly pressing in from all sides, but instead from the
dialogue, the arguments, the conflicts raised because of the
heightened nature of their circumstances. Beauvois brings a
quiet beauty to the world of the Trappist monks and the film
never strives towards the melodramatic. The most powerful
moments in the film are near silent ones - a final supper
over bottles of wine and a vinyl recording of Swan Lake,
the film’s final snow-blanketed farewell to the monks. These
are quiet lives lived, and their eventual conclusions are
treated as such and the results are both an affirmation of
the lives of these men, as well as a heartbreaking, subtle
analysis of the sacrifices made in the constant struggle
between Christianity and Islam.
The Lesson:
If Xavier Beauvois’ name is on it, it’s worth a watching.
- Noah Sanders
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