Of Gods and Men

Lambert Wilson plays Christian, the lead monk in Of Gods and Men...

Of Gods and Men was a movie that portrayed to me the beauty in humble strength. Overall, I give the movie a thumbs down; it didn't hold out well in my opinion. What it did do though, was portrayed the life of eight monks who have become the core to a Muslim community.

In the movie, viewers get to see the tangled lives of these monks as well as the stormy life of the community. I honestly have never taken the time to dwell much on monks and their lifestyle. I never knew how honorable their simplicity is, and how much the communities the serve can depend on them. The movie dwells a while on the interaction between the monks and their community and how both are beneficial to one another. 

However, as terrorists start pressing in on the community, viewers get to see the cracks in the surface of the monks. The doctor monk starts to explain how he's worn, another monk questions his faith, Christian, the leader of the group, is ultimately faced with the hardest question: should he give the okay to leave in order to protect himself and the other monks. 

...And then he plays a prisoner possessed by inner demons in another. What a turn around. *disclaimer: I've never seen this movie, but RottenTomatoes don't recommend it.

All the while the monks trusted God, and searched frantically for the answers to their problems in God's Word and through what God answered their prayers with. 

The monks were able to come to the conclusion that they would stay with the community, no matter the risk, and that's where the beauty lies. They were noble enough to acknowledge that they were in great danger and that they could very well die in order to stay and continue their work in the frantic and dying community they'd aided for so many years. 

I guess I didn't glean what I should have from this movie. Reviews on line talk about the many profound questions and challenges this movie evokes, but I was only repeatedly faced with the question of: would I stay? 

I think that when God calls us to a purpose like that of those monks, we have to stay with it. Jesus talks about taking up our cross and following Him and that he who loses his life for Him will find it (mentioned in the movie by the way--this is crucial because this helped to sway the decision of the monks), so in this case I think it's clear God would have wanted the monks to stay because He'd put them there and blessed their work there.

Overall, I do have a lot of respect for this movie and feel that there was definitely a lot there for a viewer to walk away with, however, it's not one of the better one's I've seen at Signs this semester--but that's just from my viewpoint. 

This sir does not approve.