Of Gods and Men
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: February 25, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
86
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanApr 21, 2011
I can't recall the last film that so wholly, honestly and movingly explained what it means to be a Christian. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMar 17, 2011
It's an observation of crushing truth. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerFeb 26, 2011
It's a transcendently uplifting tragedy. Read full review
100
SalonAndrew O'HehirFeb 24, 2011
What he (Beauvois) conveys, through austere but spectacular visual language, magnificent liturgical singing and an ensemble cast headed by the terrific French veteran actors Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale, is something of the "why." Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranFeb 24, 2011
A thrilling adventure of the spirit. Austere yet provocative, this is not only a film about faith, it also has faith that the power generated by complex moral decisions can be as unstoppable as any runaway locomotive. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. ScottFeb 24, 2011
Of Gods and Men is supple and suspenseful, appropriately austere without being overly harsh, and without forgoing the customary pleasures of cinema. The performances are strong, the narrative gathers momentum as it progresses, and the camera is alive to the beauty of the Algerian countryside. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternFeb 24, 2011
More than anything, Of Gods and Men is a drama of character, and warm humanity. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 24, 2011
Ignore the precise religious context and it stands perfectly well as a restrained look at personal convictions in the face of certain death. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumFeb 23, 2011
It is their shared strength as a band of brothers humble before their Christian God - and indeed before the God of Islam - that may stir viewers to an awe that transcends skeptical opinions about religion or politics. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesMar 10, 2011
Alternately harrowing and humbling, this is a story of ordinary men whose compassion is tested in the cruelest, most profound fashion. Read full review
90
The New YorkerAnthony LaneFeb 25, 2011
This movie can hardly help being beautiful, in such a rarefied domain, but what matters is that it never looks merely beautiful. [28 Feb. 2011, p. 81]
90
NPRMark JenkinsFeb 25, 2011
Although the monks don't seek death, Of Gods And Men can be seen as an ode to religiously motivated self-sacrifice. But Beauvois deliberately leaves the story open-ended. The value of these men's lives, he's noting, is not defined by how they ended. Read full review
90
Boxoffice MagazineEd SchiedFeb 21, 2011
The film is masterfully directed by Xavier Beauvois who co-wrote the screenplay. At Cannes, Of Gods and Men received the runner-up Grand Prix. It's also France's selection for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovMar 31, 2011
It's something of a Tiananmen Square face-off, minus the overt politics, which makes it all the more spellbinding. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrMar 17, 2011
Like the best spiritual movies, of whatever faith, "Of Gods and Men" moves us toward a union with the infinite, and when we come to the monks' last supper, the moment is staggeringly powerful. Read full review
80
MovielineElvis MitchellFeb 25, 2011
The normally sly Wilson - who was once in the running to play James Bond - was directed by Beauvois to surrender ego. Wilson accomplishes this with a minimum of fuss. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierFeb 25, 2011
Quiet, soulful and wrenching. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichFeb 22, 2011
Godly as the monks are, they are still human-which makes their ultimate sacrifice all the more devastating. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 29, 2011
It is a thoughtful film, a serious one, and one that is sneakily affecting. Read full review
75
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreApr 6, 2011
A quietly compelling if not particularly emotional and sober-minded treatment of an infamous incident. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMar 24, 2011
Ultimately, the story can be seen as the collision of two equally uncompromising belief systems, each its own form of fundamentalism. That neither benefits from the encounter should come as no surprise to anyone with the slightest knowledge of human history. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMar 10, 2011
I found myself resisting the film's pull of easy emotion. There are fundamental questions here, and the film doesn't engage them. I believe Christian should have had the humility to lead his monks away from the path of self-sacrifice. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 3, 2011
This is a beautiful film, full of gray-and white-haired men who grow in stature before our eyes. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenFeb 25, 2011
Be prepared to exercise the same patience and forbearing as the Trappists, because the pacing here is all Grecian urn – so much "silence and slow time." Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. MusettoFeb 25, 2011
If there's an awkward moment, it's the scene in which the monks take part in a sort of Last Supper, drinking wine while Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" plays in the background. You keep waiting for Natalie Portman to twirl into the room. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. HobermanFeb 22, 2011
Beauvois's film is cool while Denis's is hot-but the main difference is that where "White Material" is knowingly postcolonial, Of Gods and Men aspires to the timeless. Read full review
70
VarietyjFeb 21, 2011
As the film patiently (perhaps too much so for some) heads toward its foregone conclusion, Beauvois gradually raises his style to a level of baroqueness reminiscent of 1995's "Don't Forget You're Going to Die." Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubSam AdamsFeb 24, 2011
Not withstanding rich performances from Wilson and Lonsdale, the film never comes close to embodying that level of complexity. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttFeb 21, 2011
There are eight individual decisions to be made here, yet Beauvois never humanizes any of his monks. The film instead consumes itself with songs, communal prayers and nightly meals. Read full review
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