Wednesday November 16th 2011
France 2010   122 minutes
Director: Xavier Beauvois.
Starring: Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale.

Based on a true story, this is a moving account of a small group of Cistercian monks living in a hillside monastery in Algeria, working in harmony with the local farming community and providing it with medical help. Their  peaceful existence is abruptly shattered with the arrival of  Islamist ‘jihadists’ in the region, and they are forced collectively and individually into taking agonising decisions about their future. Should they stay or seek safety abroad? The film’s beautiful photography and soundtrack perfectly capture the pace of the monk’s daily routine, and its sensitive treatment of the monks’ plight has won critical acclaim internationally.