Xavier Beauvois’s 2010 film Des homes et des dieux recounts the assassination of seven Trappist monks living in a Tibhirine monastery during the 1996 Algerian Civil War. Until then, this small band of Christian brothers had lived peacefully with their Muslim neighbors, providing medical care and assistance. The film beautifully renders the quiet rhythm of their devotion; prayers, hymns, and silences woven daily around their small acts of care for local villagers. But when the threat of violence from Islamic fundamentalists looms, the monks debate the cost of staying. Their hymns and conversations become conflicted as they weigh the balance of their lives against the call to love and fidelity.
Through these meditations, confessions of fear, and a final loaf of bread broken together as Tchaikovksy’s Swan Lake fills the room, we see the Christian gospel materialize. The ancient narrative of Jesus’ love for his enemies comes to life. The inevitable peril is received as an opportunity to bear witness to the miracle of peace even if it seems a lost cause. And in this exquisite film, we learn that while the scope of mercy is often small, its cost is often immeasurably great.
—M. Leary