As the film patiently (perhaps too much so for some) heads toward its foregone conclusion, Beauvois gradually raises his style to a level of baroqueness reminiscent of 1995's "Don't Forget You're Going to Die."
Of Gods and Men(Des hommes et des dieux)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France · 2010
Rated PG-13 · 2h 0m
Director Xavier Beauvois
Starring Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach
Genre Drama, History
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
A group of Trappist monks reside in the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria, where they live in harmony with the largely Muslim population. When a bloody conflict between Algeria's army and Muslim Jihadi insurgents disrupts the peace, they must make a choice: flee the deadly violence or stay to help their community?
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Of Gods and Men is supple and suspenseful, appropriately austere without being overly harsh, and without forgoing the customary pleasures of cinema. The performances are strong, the narrative gathers momentum as it progresses, and the camera is alive to the beauty of the Algerian countryside.
Boxoffice Magazine by Ed Schied
The film is masterfully directed by Xavier Beauvois who co-wrote the screenplay. At Cannes, Of Gods and Men received the runner-up Grand Prix. It's also France's selection for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
Ignore the precise religious context and it stands perfectly well as a restrained look at personal convictions in the face of certain death.
Beauvois's film is cool while Denis's is hot-but the main difference is that where "White Material" is knowingly postcolonial, Of Gods and Men aspires to the timeless.
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
More than anything, Of Gods and Men is a drama of character, and warm humanity.
Godly as the monks are, they are still human-which makes their ultimate sacrifice all the more devastating.
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
There are eight individual decisions to be made here, yet Beauvois never humanizes any of his monks. The film instead consumes itself with songs, communal prayers and nightly meals.
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
It is their shared strength as a band of brothers humble before their Christian God - and indeed before the God of Islam - that may stir viewers to an awe that transcends skeptical opinions about religion or politics.
Not withstanding rich performances from Wilson and Lonsdale, the film never comes close to embodying that level of complexity.
Users who liked this film also liked
The Queen
Our Leaders. Ourselves.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States, France • 2006
- Director Stephen Frears
- Cast Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Helen McCrory, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam
- Genre Drama
- Available on Hoopla, Showtime Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Pluto TV
Waltz with Bashir
(Vals Im Bashir)
When a young soldier has trouble accessing memories of a massacre, conversations with others help piece his memories together.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Israel, France, Germany • 2008
- Director Ari Folman
- Cast Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Dror Harazi, Ronny Dayag
- Genre Animation, Documentary, Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The Italian Job
A comedy caper film featuring a charismatic ex-con, car chases, and chaos galore.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1969
- Director Peter Collinson
- Cast Michael Caine, Noël Coward, Benny Hill, Margaret Blye, Raf Vallone, Tony Beckley
- Genre Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
- Available on Hoopla, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Kanopy
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
The classical story of Tarzan, King of the Apes.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 1984
- Director Hugh Hudson
- Cast Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, James Fox, Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Cheryl Campbell
- Genre Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Angel's Egg
(天使のたまご)
A young girl protects a mysterious egg while exploring the ruins of a city and bonding with a young boy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1985
- Director Mamoru Oshii
- Cast Keiichi Noda, Mako Hyoudou, Jinpachi Nezu
- Genre Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
(L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo)
After witnessing a murder, an American vacationing in Rome becomes the killer’s next target.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, West Germany • 1970
- Director Dario Argento
- Cast Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho, Renato Romano
- Genre Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, Screambox, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, FlixFling, IndieFlix, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Full Moon Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Vudu, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Freevee, Midnight Pulp, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy
Khartoum
Where the Nile divides, the great Cinerama adventure begins!
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1966
- Director Basil Dearden, Eliot Elisofon
- Cast Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Richard Johnson, Ralph Richardson, Alexander Knox, Johnny Sekka
- Genre History, War, Adventure
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee
Bright Star
First love burns brightest.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Australia, France • 2009
- Director Jane Campion
- Cast Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox, Edie Martin, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube
Dog Pound
When three juvenile delinquents arrive at a brutal correctional center, they discover that fighting back is the only way out.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Canada, United Kingdom • 2010
- Director Kim Chapiron
- Cast Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Mateo Morales, Taylor Poulin, Slim Twig, Dewshane Williams
- Genre Drama
- Available on Peacock, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Redbox, Plex
Sarah's Key
(Elle s'appelait Sarah)
A young Jewish girls story from the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in 1942 intertwines with the life of a present day American journalist.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2010
- Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner
- Cast Kristin Scott Thomas, Mélusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, Frédéric Pierrot, Michel Duchaussoy, Dominique Frot
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
We Have a Pope
(Habemus Papam)
We all have our doubts.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 2011
- Director Nanni Moretti
- Cast Michel Piccoli, Nanni Moretti, Margherita Buy, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa, Franco Graziosi
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex
Barbecue
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2014
- Director Eric Lavaine
- Cast Lambert Wilson, Franck Dubosc, Florence Foresti, Guillaume de Tonquédec, Jérôme Commandeur, Valérie Crouzet
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Far from Men
(Loin des hommes)
A French teacher in a small Algerian village during the Algerian War forms an unexpected bond with a dissident.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2014
- Director David Oelhoffen
- Cast Viggo Mortensen, Reda Kateb, Djemel Barek, Vincent Martin, Nicolas Giraud
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Hoopla, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Topic, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex
Who You Think I Am
(Celle que vous croyez)
A 50-year-old professor adopts a younger fake persona to meet a man online.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2019
- Director Safy Nebbou
- Cast Juliette Binoche, Nicole Garcia, François Civil, Marie-Ange Casta, Guillaume Gouix, Charles Berling
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Collective
(Colectiv)
A documentary portrait of a group of Romanian journalists attempting to uncover fraud and corruption in public healthcare.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Romania • 2020
- Director Alexander Nanau
- Cast Catalin Tolontan, Mirela Neag, Razvan Lutac, Tedy Ursuleanu, Vlad Voiculescu
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Hoopla, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Redbox, Xumo Play, Kanopy
Offering to the Storm
(Ofrenda a la tormenta)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, Germany • 2020
- Director Fernando González Molina
- Cast Marta Etura, Carlos Librado, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Imanol Arias, Ana Wagener, Francesc Orella
- Genre Crime, Thriller
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads