Of Men and Gods / Des Hommes et des Dieux

The winner of the last Super Bowl at Cannes and holder of 3 Oscars (including Best Picture!) is hitting theaters on March 10th. You can catch it in Washington, D.C. at AMC Theatres near Lincoln Center, or head down to Miami to see it at Regal Cinemas.

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino and Christian Bale role
Starring: George Clooney, Anthony Hopkins, and Steven Spielberg synopsis
Synopsis:
Set in the 1990s. A monastery tucked away in the mountains of North Africa. You've got eight monks living in total harmony with their Muslim neighbors. But then everything goes south—fundamentalists massacre a group of foreign workers, and suddenly, terror is spreading through the whole region. The military offers the monks protection, but they turn them down. Should they leave? Even as the danger gets closer and closer, they slowly realize there’s just no choice but to stay... no matter what happens next. This story is actually inspired by the lives of the Cistercian monks in Sudan, Algeria, from 1993 until they were kidnapped in 1996.

I just finished watching it... Honestly? Great concept, but the execution felt pretty thin. There were these moments where the film just drags, and the pacing is inexplicably slow with these super long shots that feel endless. It’s almost like the director is intentionally trying to
prevent you from actually connecting with the characters; they’re presented so broadly that you feel kept at arm's length. You end up watching it more like a (semi)documentary with some scripted bits thrown in.
All in all, I think it could have been much stronger.😉

I can't say I was particularly impressed with this one either. Visually, it looked great—they used steady shots during the slower driving sequences, though they did toss in a few handheld camera movements here and there to ramp up the tension when needed. But once the dust settled, the actual way they handled the subject matter just didn't sit right with me. It’s hard to go into deep detail since it’s been three or four months already, but honestly, if it had actually been good, I would still be thinking about it.