If you fall into neither of these categories and you are remotely interested in a good/true story, history, Christian/Muslim relationships or excellent cinema, then please watch this movie. You won't regret it. And I'm pretty sure it's still at your local redbox.
Of Gods and Men is set in the beautiful mountain landscape of Algeria back in the 1990s and is based on a true and as yet unfinished story. We are introduced to a small Algerian town and its people by way of a brotherhood of Catholic missionary-monks who are there to love the people with Christ's love. It becomes apparent that the relationships between the brothers and the villagers are friendships that run deeper than a quick glance would reveal.
Each of the brothers contributes to daily chores and has his own special place at the simple monastery where they live. They are completely self-sufficient and do not drain any of the local resources--they grow their own food, make their own clothes and construct their own buildings. Their humility in learning the ways of the locals and in knowing the locals themselves demonstrates a deep desire to do something other than 'community development' or vacation (which are two of the ruts that missionaries stereotypically fall into).
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Rather abruptly, we are confronted with brutal scenes of the beginnings of Algeria's civil war. The brothers know that they could become targets of Muslim extremists but their leader, Christian, is convinced that the best way for them to live is to live as though dead to anything but Christ. So, they stay on. Each of the brothers experiences his own wrestlings--some more visibly and forcefully than others. An honest monk, Christophe, lies awake at night almost yelling his prayers. He is only trying to make a silent God listen.
The night comes when the feared Muslim extremists bang down their monastery gate and enter the compound demanding medical attention for one of their wounded fighters. The beloved doctor, Luc, tends to the man just as he had attended dozens of small children earlier in the day. After the warrior had been helped, Christian pointed out that it was a sacred night for them: Christmas Eve. The rebel leader apologizes for the interruption, then slips away, hidden by darkness.
The brothers, through their own personal struggles and prayers and internal turmoil, eventually are of one mind--to stay in Algeria is the only true proof of the Love that has been given to them; to move back to France would destroy all that they had previously shown of that Love. To stay: faithfulness. To leave: betrayal. And through all of the struggle, their rhythms of prayer, worship and work never change; their bonds with the villagers and each other grow even closer.
Eventually, the realities of war overtake them and all but two of the monks became hostages and then fatalities of a bitter rebellion that is still rumbling in Algeria.
But you know, and I know, that when those men were taken, their stories did not end. Because their lives ended well--in faithfulness and love--their stories were resurrected again and again in that little town. Twenty years later, and we're still talking about what love did. Love stayed, love healed the terrorist, love prayed, love worked, love did not fight, love did not run away.
Impossible, you say? Probably.
But, with hommes the things that are impossible are possible for Dieu.
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