The Good Men

This weekend, I took my recently-separated friend to see the least romantic movie I could think of that is playing right now: Of Gods and Men.

Have you heard of it? It's based on a true story of seven French Trappist monks who live in a Muslim village Algiers in the late 1990s. The monks administer medicine, provide shoes, and grow food in their monastery for the villagers, and are basically loved by all. But word gets around that they have medicine and supplies and the terrorists come knocking. Eventually, push comes to shove between the ruthless terrorists of the region, the compassionate monks, and the desperate government - and, well, not every film has a happy ending.

The men in the film are old and wrinkly, there's no fat guy who falls over for a laugh, there's no super-smooth alpha male leader who wears cool sunglasses and drives a Benz. No one gets Knocked Up. No one defuses a bomb. These are not the men we're used to seeing on the big screen. But the monks are so sweet and gentle with each other, the town children, and their friends, that they made my heart hurt. These are good men.

I would highly recommend the film if you're into indie, thought-provoking stuff like that (it won the Grand Prix at Cannes). But more than that, if you want to consume more media about good men, and less about bumbling, sexist, boorish man-boys who just want to get laid and don't care about anything, go see it.

I mean, when is the last time you saw a movie about the ties of friendship among men that didn't involve a stripper? Seriously.

Poster via Trailershut