OF GODS AND MEN

This is a remarkable and important film. It tells the true story of Christian monks serving a remote North African village through medicine, education, food, music, prayer and kindness. Their work reflects the love of Christ, while the rising jihadist violence creates steadily tightening danger.

The film’s realism is exceptional. Much of it feels like a documentary, and the jeopardy holds your attention throughout. The monks’ decision to stay, even after government officials and police warn them to leave, gives the story its moral and spiritual weight.

The cost is real. A shocking attack includes brutal killings and beheadings, and the content section reports throats slashed, machine-gun fire and other very strong violence. Teenagers and adults who can engage those scenes with discernment should see it; younger children should not.

In 1990s North Africa, a small community of Christian monks serves a remote village in the Atlas mountains. They treat diseases, help villagers write letters, care for children, grow food and provide education.

As jihadist violence rises, officials and police warn the monks to leave. The brothers must decide whether their calling to remain and serve is worth the danger gathering around them.

Four stars means this is an extraordinary achievement. OF GODS AND MEN has an unsurpassed quality of realism, often resembling a documentary rather than a conventional American movie. That approach gives the monks’ daily lives and growing danger unusual force.

The jeopardy rivets the viewer throughout. At times, the tension becomes almost unbearable because the audience knows the fate awaiting these loving men of God. Its structure may feel unfamiliar, but the realism and sustained tension make the film an exceptional work.

OF GODS AND MEN presents the monks’ Christian mission as loving, practical service. They build up their village through medicine, education, music, kindness, hospitality and construction. Their lives show a faith that serves people rather than withdrawing from them.

The film sharply contrasts that ministry with the cruelty of Muslim jihadists who terrorize and kill. The source review describes the movie as a wake-up call to Western civilization and emphasizes the monks’ belief that God is the Creator, that people are made in His likeness, and that Jesus died for His enemies rather than killing them. The film includes many discussions of God and salvation in Jesus Christ, although one brief point uses Universalist language that conflicts with the movie’s larger Christian witness.

At the center is a vision of sacrificial love: the monks remain committed to serving others even when they know the danger may cost them their lives. “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).

OF GODS AND MEN is a four-star achievement with remarkable realism, gripping jeopardy and a powerful witness to Christian love. Its disturbing violence makes discernment necessary, but teenagers and adults should find much to consider and admire. WORTH THE TRIP — AGES 13 AND UP.