Of Gods and Men (film)
Of Gods and Men | |
---|---|
Directed by | Xavier Beauvois |
Written by | Étienne Comar Xavier Beauvois |
Produced by | Pascal Caucheteux Étienne Comar Grégoire Sorlat |
Starring | Lambert Wilson Michael Lonsdale |
Cinematography | Caroline Champetier |
Edited by | Marie-Julie Maille |
Production companies | Why Not Productions Armada Films |
Distributed by | Mars Distribution (France) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 122 minutes |
Country | France |
Languages | French Arabic |
Box office | $42.1 million[1] |
Of Gods and Men (
Largely a tale of a peaceful situation between local Christians and Muslims before becoming a lethal one due to external forces, the screenplay focuses on the preceding chain of events in decay of
The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix, the festival's second most prestigious award. It became a critical and commercial success in its domestic market, and won both the Lumières Award and César Award for Best Film.
Plot
The film opens with a quotation from the
Cast
- Lambert Wilson as Christian
- Michael Lonsdale as Luc
- Olivier Rabourdin as Christophe
- Philippe Laudenbach as Célestin
- Jacques Herlin as Amédée
- Loïc Pichon as Jean-Pierre
- Xavier Maly as Michel
- Jean-Marie Frin as Paul
- Abdelhafid Metalsi as Nouredine
- Sabrina Ouazani as Rabbia
- Abdallah Moundy as Omar
- Olivier Perrier as Bruno
- Farid Larbi as Ali Fayattia
- Adel Bencherif as the terrorist
Background and production
In 1996, seven French
A scholarly book on the events was published in 2002, John W. Kiser's The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria.[5]
The film project was initiated by Etienne Comar in 2006, when the tenth anniversary of the incident made it a topic again in
The financing coincided with the revelation of the Algerian army's possible involvement in the incident, which once again sparked an interest for the story from media and the public.
As preparation for their roles, François Polgar, the former assistant director of the choir of the Paris Opera, former director of Le Chœur de Radio France and director of
Filming started in early December 2009 in
Release
The film premiered on 18 May 2010 in competition at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.[16] It was the second time a film directed by Beauvois was selected for the festival; he had previously won the 1995 Jury Prize for Don't Forget You're Going to Die.[17] Of Gods and Men was released in France on 8 September through Mars Distribution. It was launched on 252 screens, which after two weeks had been increased to 424, and further during the third week to 442.[9] Artificial Eye released it in the United Kingdom on 3 December 2010.[18][19] Sony Pictures Classics acquired the distribution rights for the United States, Australia and New Zealand.[20]
Reception
Critical response
As of June 2020[update], the film holds a 92% approval rating on review aggregation website
In the United Kingdom, Tom Dawson of Total Film gave the film four stars out of five, and Tim Robey rated it three out of five in The Daily Telegraph. Both critics praised the performances of Wilson and Lonsdale. Dawson called the film a "masterful drama", and Robey wrote: "It's a grave and thoughtful film, and certainly not a bad one, for all my twinges of scepticism about how deep its insights really go." Robey's main complaint concerned the ending of the film: "There's one serious mistake, in a picture that's almost passive-aggressively careful in most of its scenes: a last supper, while the monks sip wine, look at each other in silent, welling close-ups, and Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake overture crescendoes over the top. Those last three words are operative – Beauvois could hardly milk this emotional catharsis more coercively if he came down the aisles handing out tissues." Dawson on the other hand approved of the scene's manner: "The Last Supper-style sequence, where the monks listen to Swan Lake and share red wine, is particularly affecting."[25][26] Radio critic Mark Kermode gave an extremely positive review of the film, later ranking it as the 2nd best film of 2010.
Box office
362,671 tickets were sold during the first five days of the French theatrical run. This can be compared to the director's last film,
In United Kingdom, Of Gods and men was distributed, the first week, in only 16 movie houses. It was part, from the first weekend, of the 15 best at the box office.[30][31] In United States, the movie was distributed, 25 February, in only 33 theaters. It is part, from the first week, of the 25 best at the box office.[32]
Accolades
The Cannes Film Festival jury, led by American director
At the
See also
- Assassination of the monks of Tibhirine
- Religion in Algeria
- The Garden of Allah (1936 film)
- List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of French submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ "Of Gods and Men (2011) – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ "Of Gods and Men Press Kit" (PDF). Sony Classics. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ "Review: Of Gods and Men". Blog. Fallible Blogma. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ a b c Lemercier, Fabien (11 December 2009). "Beauvois focuses on monks of Tibhirine in Des Hommes et des Dieux". Cineuropa. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
- ISBN 978-0312253172
- ^ a b c d Schwartz, Arnaud (5 September 2010). "" Des hommes et des dieux ", itinéraire d'un film rare". La Croix (in French). France. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ a b Lorrain, François-Guillaume (27 May 2010). "Lambert Wilson, moine prieur". Le Point (in French). France. Archived from the original on 7 January 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
- ^ Lemercier, Fabien (20 May 2010). "Interview with Xavier Beauvois". Cineuropa. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
- ^ a b Lemercier, Fabien (30 September 2010). "Of Gods and Men reigns in theatres". Cineuropa. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Alexandre, Xavier (25 May 2010). "Jean-Marie Frin est un des moines de Tibhirine". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2010.
- ^ Staff writer (3 September 2010). "Les moines de Tibhirine, jusqu'au bout de l'engagement". La Croix (in French). France. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ Cereja, Pierre-Louis (5 September 2010). "Michael Lonsdale : " Je joue à l'instinct "". L'Alsace (in French). Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ Staff writer (30 November 2009). "Un film sur les moines de Tibéhirine". Le Parisien (in French). France. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
- ^ Patterson, Margot. "The last monk of Tibhirine: 'God drove that history'". National Catholic Reporter. National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Mebarek, Walid (30 August 2010). "Des hommes et des dieux, sortie le 8 septembre". El Watan (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2010.
- ^ "The screenings guide" (PDF). festival-cannes.com. Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ a b Chang, Justin (23 May 2010). "'Uncle Boonmee' wins Palme d'Or". Variety. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ "Of Gods and Men". Screenrush. Tiger Global. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- ^ Jones, Emma (3 December 2010). "Monk tragedy Of Gods and Men proves surprise hit". BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- ^ Hazelton, John (21 May 2010). "SPC buys Of Gods And Men for US, Australia". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ "Of Gods and Men Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
- ^ Regnier, Isabelle (7 September 2010). "'Des hommes et des dieux' : 'Laissez passer l'homme libre...'". Le Monde (in French). France. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
On peut, on doit, même, envisager ce film comme une profession de foi. Mais c'est dans le cinéma que Beauvois a toujours placé la sienne, et qu'il la place ici plus que jamais. Confiant dans le talent de sa chef opératrice, Caroline Champetier, ... il signe une mise en scène puissante et dépouillée[.] ... S'en remettant à la majesté aride des paysages de l'Atlas (marocain pour le tournage), à l'épure laiteuse des robes des moines, à la rythmique du rituel, Xavier Beauvois joue avec les travellings avec une maestria soufflante
- ^ Péron, Didier (7 September 2010). "Une envie de martyre". Libération (in French). France. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
Des hommes et des dieux aurait sans doute perdu en grandeur et en lyrisme ... ce qu'il aurait gagné en contenu politique s'il avait précisément interrogé la place des moines et le rôle profond de leur paternalisme onctueux face à un Etat défaillant et au milieu d'une population déshéritée.
- ^ Robey, Tim (2 December 2010). "Of Gods and Men, review". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ Dawson, Tom (2 December 2010). "Of Gods And Men". Total Film. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
- ^ Corriez, Olivier (13 September 2010). "Box office : Des Hommes et des Dieux guidé vers les sommets". Excessif (in French). TF1. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Des hommes et des dieux". JP's Box-Office (in French). Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- ^ "Classement France 06-12 Octobre 2010". JP's Box-Office (in French). Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ^ Uk Box office 3 December 2010, ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
- ^ Uk Box Office, 3 dec 2010, screenrush.co.uk
- ^ "Box Office Mojo, Of Gods and Men, Weekly Box Office". Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- ^ Hopewell, John; Keslassy, Elsa (22 May 2010). "Int'l critics bestow top honors at Cannes". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (25 February 2011). "'Of Gods and Men' tops Cesar Awards". Variety. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (21 January 2011). "Of Gods and Men leads Cesar nominees". Screen Daily. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (14 January 2011). "'Gods,' 'Ghost Writer' top Lumieres". Variety. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
- ^ César, Académie (28 February 2011). "36e cérémonie des Césars". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Nominations for the 23rd European Film Awards". europeanfilmacademy.org. European Film Academy. 6 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ McNary, Dave (2 December 2010). "National Board honors 'The Social Network'". Variety. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- ^ Staff writer (18 January 2011). "'The King's Speech' Tops BAFTA List With 14 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (17 September 2010). "France choses 'Gods' for Oscars". Variety. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
- ^ "9 Foreign Language Films Continue to Oscar Race". oscars.org. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
External links
- Official website
- Of Gods and Men at IMDb
- Of Gods and Men at AllMovie