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Plot Summary
(Subtitled) Eight French Christian monks live 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 realize that they have no choice but to stay… come what may. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.
Credits
Director
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
93%- Reviews Counted: 111
- Fresh: 103
- Rotten: 8
- Average Rating: 8.1/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: A transfixing meditation on religious conviction, post-colonial strife and the force of actors who elevate every gesture to a loftier domain.
Fresh: Both a moving, almost abstract parable of faith and an all too real episode drawn from recent history.
Fresh: The monks don't speak their minds often, but when they do, the actors infuse their utterances with bottomless grace and humility yet very human dread and doubt.
Fresh: The climax is both misty and unforgettable: a sacrifice that looks like a ghost story.
Customer Reviews
Thought provoking
Wonderful film. Beautiful imagery, with sensitive performances by all the actors. Loved what the film was trying to portray: the moral issues of good versus evil, each person's questioning of his faith and life purpose, and about man's place in the world. I loved the simple lifestyle of these monks and how the film showed them to be just like the rest of us: scared, unsure, questioning their own lives and choices, yet ultimately reaffirming who they were and why they were serving God in a monastery in a foreign land living among and serving Muslims in a small community. I especially liked that the film showed all of their unique personalities, showed how they worked out differences of opinion, and even showed them cursing!
The film left me disagreeing with the monks' ultimate decision...I believe that life itself is the most precious and priceless thing in this world and that love and goodness must fight to exist. Otherwise, evil prevails and continues to destroy. And I cannot accept that goodness should sacrifice itself to pure evil. But I understand what motivated the monks' choices...
Histoire de sacrifice et d
Très belle histoire d'amour et de sacrifice. Toutes les performances sont précieuses et parfaites.... contrairement à d'autre idée, ce film est pour tout le monde afain de comprendre l'obediance de la parole de Dieu.
Great Film Not for Everyone
The film will not be for everyone. The film focuses on faith and the struggles that many people feel. How far do you go for something you belive in? The pace for me was about right to reflect on the charcters situation. The film does not take a easy road. The Muslium's of the village are seen as peolpe. The brothers treat everyone as people even to the end.
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- $12.99
- Genre: Drama
- Released: 2010
- © 2010 Armada Films, Why Not Productions and France 3 Cinema. All Rights Reserved.