Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux) is an uncompromisingly Catholic film describing the protracted individual Gethsemanes of a group of Trappist monks who were murdered in Algeria in 1996 during the civil war between the state and radical Islamists writes Francis Ryan.
A French film on that theme at this time offers all sorts of horrible potentials, not the least of which are raging Islamophobia or saccharine religiosity. It avoids both. This is surprising in a way since the Catholic Church in France has long been identified with counter-revolution, monarchical throwbacks and the political right. The film mentions only very fleetingly the blood drenched French occupation of Algeria and offers no background into the conflict in that society. Especially in France, where it has been seen by more than two million people, these things would be reasonably familiar to many in the audience.
The monks are depicted as deeply embedded in the Algerian village where their monastery was built. They provide medical care, attend family celebrations and sell their produce in the local market. The violence of the outside world is introduced by the murder of a villager’s relative for not wearing a hijab and the murder of some Croat building workers. The monks are offered military protection but decline it on the grounds that they don’t want to be seen to be defended by the troops of a rotten regime. Their doctor treats one of the wounded Islamists and their leader says a prayer for a dead terrorist when he identifies his body in a morgue. Relations with the Algerian state were not good as the clerics began to be suspected of providing the terrorists with medicines.
Acceptance of death and sacrifice are at the heart of the narrative and you could compare it to an ensemble version of Murder in the Cathedral. Actively seeking martyrdom is as impermissible as moral cowardice for these monks who chose to stay with the people among whom they had made their home. The monks themselves observe that the villagers have neither the chance to flee nor the possibility of police protection and put themselves in the same situation. It’s not easy for them. One lies awake shouting at the god he believes has abandoned him and when they are abducted the oldest among them hides under his bed.
They have their own Last Supper and I’m on the side of those who say it’s an overwhelming beautiful scene. To the music of Swan Lake the camera rotates around the room showing each man’s face as he realises the fate that will be his. Each man’s love for the others and for the vocation to which he has devoted his lives impels him to remain.
In France there is speculation that the monks were murdered by the Algerian army and then beheaded to attribute blame to the Islamists. Their bodies remain undiscovered and the audience is only told that the identify of their killers and circumstances of their deaths are unknown. A letter from one of the dead monks is powerfully used in the closing scenes to put a distance between the atrocities that were committed in Algeria and its people. He made the same point about Islam and the terrorists groups.
You could make a case that this film is a massive advert for a brand of Christianity that has little to do with the daily practice of the religion. Yet just occasionally what people say is exactly what they believe and do. That seems to be the message of the film and if you’re going to go to the cinema in the next few weeks Of Gods and Men needs to be your first choice. It may be a good idea to have a packet of tissues.