Of Gods And Men is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.
The eight French Christian monks lived in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region.
The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave?
Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realise that they have no choice but to stay…come what may.
The film explores the last few months in the life of this small community of Christian monks in a “Muslim land”. It is more about capturing the spirit of the events and what was at stake in the community than in recounting the exact details of a historic reality.
The story begins several weeks before the terrorists issued an ultimatum ordering all foreigners to leave the country. An armed terrorist group even broke into the monastery on Christmas Eve.
The monks’ dilemma, dormant until that point, is now clear: stay or leave?
The decision must be made as a group. But for them, the choice of going or staying, despite the threats, is laden with consequences.
When they refuse military protection, the government asks them to return to France.
Each monk will make his decision by assessing the human, political and religious stakes and by plumbing the depths of his soul and conscience.
This dramatic tension accompanies the practical and mystical daily life of the community: their deep ties to the villagers and the spirit of peace and charity with which they try to counter the violence eating away at the country.
WHAT: Of Gods And Men
WHERE: Cinemax, Kingscliff
WHEN: Opening this week
