Based on a true story, this film tells the story of a small group of French monks in an Algerian monastery in 1995, caught between their order, the corrupt Algerian government, and an Islamic terrorist group. The beginning shows the fairly symbiotic relationship between the monks and the village they serve, though it’s interesting that they seem to have little interest in converting any of the Muslims around them (perhaps it’s worth noting there is a difference between a monastery and a mission), but instead serve among them, providing medical care, advice and a listening ear, prayer when desired, and above all a stable presence in the region.
The Islamist group threatens the delicate balance, with growing violence and threats making the monks consider leaving for a safer monastery or returning to France. This struggle is played out in a series of community meetings as the seven or eight of them talk out the various options, and what they believe God would have them do, and also more subtly through the frequent prayer and chanting they do, which constitutes almost the entirety of the film’s soundtrack.
