Humility courses through the monks in Of Gods and Men, and it also courses through the movie. This based-on-fact story, about French monks who refuse to abandon an Algerian village in the face of Islamic extremism, could easily have given in to the religious hyperbole of the genre (call it martyr porn). But instead, Of Gods and Men is quiet, unassuming and honest about the very difficult decision of putting your spiritual principles before your physical life. When the monks debate whether or not they should stand by their oppressed Muslim neighbors in the face of likely death, it’s treated as a real, soul-wrenching dilemma. Martyrdom isn’t unquestionably celebrated as a noble opportunity – it’s recognized for the difficult, painful, confusing act that it certainly must be for those who undertake it.
