Des Hommes et des Dieux (Of Gods and Men)

Over the weekend, I rented Of Gods and Men from the library and watched it. What attracted me to it was the fact that it takes place in an Arabic and French speaking country, both languages with which I am very familiar. Based on what Tim and some students said in class about how it involves a conflict between Christianity and Islam, I was expecting it to be a very suspenseful and frightening movie. However, since it had to do with monks, I knew there had to be peace inside the monastery, since God is very present in their hearts and daily lives.
The central theme of this movie is the giving of one’s whole life to God. This is manifested in the thoughts and actions of the monks as they are deciding whether they should stay in or leave Algeria. Ironically, the Arabic word Islam means the submission which describes how fully the followers of this religion are to submit to the will of Allah. They believe the pages of the Quran fell from the sky into Mohammed’s hands, which basically means to them that the book is completely infallible. So, whatever is in the book is what Allah wants. And the book has only human compiler: Mohammed. So, if Mohammed was lying and actually wrote it himself, people are submitting to his will, and not that of God.
This film is inspired by a true story. Christian, the abbot, is the central figure, as he has much of the responsibility in representing the monastery in front of the guerrilla-fighters as well as heading dialogue about what decision needs to be made regarding whether they stay or leave. At first, he makes a wrong move by telling the head of the guerrilla-fighters that they will stay without even discussing the matter with his brothers. They eventually ask him to open the decision to all of them, and it seems to be a half-and-half split on the decision of leaving or staying. As they reflect on their purpose in life and calling from God, they each slowly reach an understanding that they have already given their lives to God, and that staying is a risk worth taking. At the end of the movie, they are taken as captives from the monastery. The movie concludes with a beautiful speech by Christian about the separation of Islam from Islamism, and how the country and the religion are like a body and soul. They are then lead in a freezing cold path outside by the Jama Islamiyya people, and the movie says it is unsure of how most of them die. Two survive. But all of them collectively decided to stay, showing their determination and acceptance of God’s Will.