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OF GODS AND MEN (DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX)Movie Reviews
Arabic and French language drama about a group of Trappist monks living outside of Algiers who are taken hostage by Islamic revolutionaries during escalating civil strife. Cast:Lambert Wilson, Jean-Marie Frin, Jacques Herlin, Philippe Laudenbach, Michel Lonsdale, Xavier MalyDirector:Xavier BeauvoisRelease Date:February 25, 2011DVD Release:July 5, 2011From:Sony ClassicsRating:PG-13Length:2 hr 0 min
JULY 5, 2011
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux), Outstanding Reviews Key Cities
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux) played in key cities to outstanding reviews. • Mick LaSalle wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "...beautiful... probably the best long, slow, depressing movie about monks you'll ever get a chance to see. Consider this both a warning and a recommendation..." • And David Germain wrote for the Associated Press, "...truly glorious..." More Reviews Below...
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux) Positive Reviews (36 Reviews, reviews below)
David Germain, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a truly glorious story of brotherhood, no matter what you think of the monks' faith, servility or judgment, or their choice to sequester themselves in celibacy..."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 693 words, 02/24/11
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Gravely serene and suffused with tenderness... a superb, award-laden French drama... essentially about how men behave in the name of religious conviction."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 295 words, 02/25/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...in choosing to stay with their vocation and their duty in the face of quite probable death.... Did they make the right choice?"(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 769 words, 03/11/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...beautiful, somber and rigorously intelligent... the narrative gathers momentum as it progresses, and the camera is alive to the beauty of the Algerian countryside."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,228 words, 02/25/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "Quiet, soulful and wrenching, especially when the seven monks debate the reasons for staying -- or leaving when they can."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 147 words, 02/25/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...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."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 770 words, 02/25/11
John Anderson, New York Newsday: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...moving, expertly acted... solid drama, a story of both ideas and men, staged with care, craft and an ear for the music of faith."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 332 words, 03/18/11
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: EXCELLENT "It's a testament to the movie's power that even we of little faith come to respect the process by which the brothers arrive at their destiny."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 714 words, 03/11/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...in choosing to stay with their vocation and their duty in the face of quite probable death.... Did they make the right choice?"(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 769 words, 03/11/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Winner of the Grand Prix last year at Cannes and based on a 1996 event that continues to resonate in France... not without generic excitement."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 02/23/11
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "Who were these holy men?... why, despite repeated warnings to evacuate and a clear-eyed awareness of their immediate peril, did they choose to stay?"(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 763 words, 02/25/11
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...achieves a flawless balance between taut, truth-based contemporary drama and the timeless question of spiritual commitment and obedience."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 535 words, 03/18/11
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "A story of faith and doubt, of humanity and the horrors humans are capable of... extraordinarily moving and troubling..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 03/18/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...quiet, austere... more electrifying than a dozen action movies.... How these eight men come to define their duty makes it 2011's first indisputably great film."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 503 words, 03/18/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...beautifully shot, intensely affecting... an experience that takes us right up to the edge of human experience and peers into the unknown."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 03/18/11
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD(cg) "Faith is an incredibly powerful thing... Director Xavier Beauvois channels the pace of the monks' life, which is both his film's strength and its weakness."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 516 words, 02/25/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...beautiful... probably the best long, slow, depressing movie about monks you'll ever get a chance to see. Consider this both a warning and a recommendation..."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 433 words, 03/04/11
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...spare but relentless... Veteran French star Michel Lonsdale gives a memorable performance as the most avuncular of the bunch..."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 182 words, 03/25/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "I was unmoved... a conscientious critic can't just genuflect to the lofty ideals that the characters represent without noticing that the film they inhabit is flat."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 349 words, 03/25/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "It's an essential ethical decision, set in a historical context and given human dimension.... the differences between the all-knowing and the all-too-human."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 339 words, 04/08/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Winner of the Grand Prix last year at Cannes and based on a 1996 event that continues to resonate in France... not without generic excitement."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 02/23/11
Peg Aloi, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Religion and terrorism are the film's subtle backdrops -- this is really a story of finding peace and purpose in a chaotic world."(See all of Peg Aloi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 153 words, 03/17/11
Sam Adams, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has a scant feeling for spirituality... Beauvois admires the monks' steadfastness, but doesn't seem to understand it."(See all of Sam Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 410 words, 02/24/11
Elvis Mitchell, Movieline: EXCELLENT(cg) "...an ascetic melodrama that massages its way into your soul.... The movie has a mournful electricity, as we come to realize it's about accepting the inevitable."(See all of Elvis Mitchell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 404 words, 02/25/11
Andrew Schenker, Slant: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a stern rebuke to the small band of bigots that has allowed their opposition to the lower Manhattan Islamic cultural center to shade over into an ugly xenophobia."(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,295 words, 09/24/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...powerful... sets a deliberate pace and contemplative tone... seems to stand outside fleeting cinematic trends to offer a tale that feels like one for the ages."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 528 words, 03/31/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...one of the most beautiful movies I know, even though its subject matter and otherwordly pace set it apart from mainstream entertainment."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,009 words, 02/25/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...beautiful, somber and rigorously intelligent... the narrative gathers momentum as it progresses, and the camera is alive to the beauty of the Algerian countryside."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,228 words, 02/25/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...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."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 770 words, 02/25/11
Jordan Mintzer, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...a transfixing meditation on religious conviction, post-colonial strife and the force of actors who elevate every gesture to a loftier domain."(See all of Jordan Mintzer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 748 words, 05/18/10
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...ponderous... Xavier Beauvois never humanizes any of his monks. The film instead consumes itself with songs, communal prayers and nightly meals."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 470 words, 05/18/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...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."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 770 words, 02/25/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a quiet, intriguing, and haunting meditation on values and conscience in crisis conditions... accumulates tremendous power at it goes along."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 718 words, 01/09/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...beautiful, somber and rigorously intelligent... the narrative gathers momentum as it progresses, and the camera is alive to the beauty of the Algerian countryside."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,228 words, 02/25/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...one of the most beautiful movies I know, even though its subject matter and otherwordly pace set it apart from mainstream entertainment."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,009 words, 02/25/11
16.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux)'s reviews are separated by an average 16.3 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux) (36 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux)'s reviews cover 64.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 19,087 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 530 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux) Coverage, Volume & Length (36 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 50.0 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux)'s reviews on average broke 50.0 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Of Gods and Men (Des hommes et des dieux) (36 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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