Of people and gods

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Movie
German title Of people and gods
Original title Des hommes et des dieux
Country of production France
original language French , Arabic
Publishing year 2010
length 122 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Xavier Beauvois
script Xavier Beauvois
Etienne Comar
production Pascal Caucheteux
Etienne Comar
Frantz Richard
camera Caroline Champetier
cut Myriam Coën
Sophia Del-Vecchio
occupation

Von Menschen und Göttern is a French feature film from 2010. The original French title Des hommes et des dieux (“Men and Gods”) is explained with a quote from Ps 82.6-7 EU , which precedes  the film. The story is based on a real story, the murder of seven Roman Catholic monks in the Notre-Dame de l'Atlas monastery in Algeria in 1996. Directed by Xavier Beauvois , actors include Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale . In France, over 3 million viewers attended the film, which received, among other things, the Grand Jury Prize in Cannes and the César for Best Film. The film was shot in the abandoned Benedictine monastery Tioumliline in Morocco.

action

In the Notre-Dame de l'Atlas monastery in Tibhirine in the Algerian Atlas Mountains , nine Trappist monks live in close proximity to the predominantly Muslim population. The villagers consult the doctor, Brother Luc, or let the monks help them with the authorities. When radical Islamists urged all foreigners to leave the country and soon slaughter a group of Croatian workers, the question for the monks was whether they should stay or leave. They reject the suggestion made by the authorities to have the monastery under military surveillance. A difficult time begins, in which the monks weigh between wanting security and not abandoning the local population. Islamist fighters appear on Christmas Day and demand that their injured comrade receive medical care given by the monks. They leave again. After a few days they reappear and lead seven of the monks away; two could hide.

Reviews

In the reviews of Von Menschen und Göttern there were superlatives. For the Süddeutsche Zeitung it was a “film miracle” and “one of the most important and moving cinema events of the year”. For the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung it was “a great film” on par with Nathan the Wise . And epd Film thanked: "The viewer can feel like a gift to share in the wealth of a modest life."

Caroline Champetier received praise for her camera. She "underlines the atmospheric agreement that prevails between the landscape, village and monastery," and creates images that are free from kitsch or emotional manipulation. Without dramatic escalation, the story is implemented, unsentimental, truthful, and ignores the sensational potential inherent in the event. Gerhard Midding certified the work in epd film "narrative maturity". The directorial decisions followed “a deep inner necessity”; instead of a dramatic fall, Beauvois is committed to “a more attentive, patient devotion to the subject”. The story draws its tension “from the examination of the conscience of those who persist”. The monks would take “time to make a decision”, and everyday life would have a “different horizon”; the “struggle for inner attitude” is described wonderfully until they find themselves “in the clear, serene light of the decision made for a last supper” - “not light, but with a determined heart”. Midding called the monks heroic "without exception", it was said in the FAZ , Beauvois did not make them heroes, and in the NZZ , he showed "that they had no intention of being martyred ."

According to Susanne Ostwald ( Neue Zürcher Zeitung ) "philosophical consideration to the question would be how to counter terrorism." Continues the work of Rainer Gansera put it in the Sueddeutsche in the series of "great mystics: Rossellini , Dreyer , Bresson ." In contrast, said Josef Lederle from the film service , the explanations ventured “unusually far into Christian theological territory”. The fact that the monks, with the commitment of their lives, testified to the “distinction between Islam and its Islamic caricature” and surrendered their own existence to God, was “the real imposition” of the film. "This humble or, depending on the reading, even radical Christian interpretation of (monastic) human existence has found such a wonderful correspondence in Beauvois' restrained staging that it is quite difficult to distinguish between the original and the interpretation." According to Bert Rebhandl ( FAZ ), Beauvois establishes a connection to Christian sacrificial theology and let religion emerge in its foreignness to reason, "foreign especially to a fundamentalism that presumes rule over life and death."

Cinema Poignantly unsentimental, carefully staged
epd film Narrated with maturity and dedication; has inner tension; presents the spectator; 5/5 stars
Film service Authentically and cautiously staged; very faithful interpretation
Frankfurter Allgemeine Z. Great film on par with Nathan the Wise ; great Lambert Wilson
The New Zurich Times Masterful; staged respectfully and truthfully; Pictures without kitsch or emotional manipulation
Southgerman newspaper "Movie Miracle"; one of the most important and moving films of the year

Awards

Beauvois with his won César for Von Menschen und Göttern (2011)

The film won the Grand Jury Prize and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival . In December 2010 it was named "Film of the Month" by the Evangelical Film Work jury .

The French candidate was also in the running for an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film, but did not make it onto the shortlist. At the 2011 César Awards , the film turned three of its eleven nominations into victories and won in the categories of best film, best supporting actor (Michael Lonsdale) and best camera. The production was also selected as the best French film by the Syndicat Français de la Critique de Cinéma et des Films de Télévision .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for From humans and gods . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , December 2010 (PDF; test number: 125 333 K).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Rainer Gansera: When terror comes . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , December 15, 2010, p. 13
  3. ↑ a b c d e Bert Rebhandl: The long death of the seven monks . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 15, 2010, p. 31
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Gerhard Midding: Of people and gods . In: epd Film No. 12/2010, p. 36
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Susanne Ostwald: The people a pleasure . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , December 16, 2010, p. 51
  6. ↑ a b c Jennifer Selig: Of people and gods . In: Cinema No. 1/2011, p. 67
  7. ↑ a b c Josef Lederle: Of people and gods . In: Filmdienst No. 25/2010

literature

Web links