Lauren Spohn Hosts Of Gods and Men
Beautiful mountain views and candlelit chapels filled the screen of Geddes’ Andrews Auditorium on the evening of Friday, March 21, as attendees gathered for the screening of Grand Prix-winning film, Of Gods and Men. Sponsored by the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture (dCEC), the showing kicked off the center’s Lenten Film Series, and was hosted by visiting scholar Lauren Spohn.
Before the showing, Spohn read an excerpt from Pope Pius XII’s Apostolic Exhortation: The Ideal Film. Quoting the Holy Father’s words about cinema as a way of upholding and reclaiming the dignity of human life, Spohn stated how a good film “strengthens [man’s] convictions: that he can overcome obstacles and avoid erroneous solutions, that he can rise after every fall and return to the right path, that he can, in short, go from good to better through the use of his freedom and his faculties.”
Of Gods and Men, directed by Xavier Beauvois, is a true story about a group of Cistercian monks living within an Algerian Monastery. Though the film begins by depicting the monks as they go about their daily routine, conflict quickly arises as fundamentalist terrorists begin to threaten their peaceful life. Questioning whether or not they should leave in search of safety, the monks ultimately decide to stay within the monastery, a choice that pushes the faith of the community to its boundary.
Rife throughout the film are several harrowing, yet beautiful moments. For instance, one scene depicts the monks gathered in prayer, as the gradually increasing sound of a helicopter is heard in the background. Later discovering that there was a gun attached to the aircraft, the monks band together in imitation of Our Lord, humbly accepting the possibility of martyrdom.
Another powerful scene captures a similar attitude, when, faced with impending death, one of the monks places his head on Caravaggio’s painting, Christ at the Column. This work, which depicts the scourging of Jesus, allows the audience to enter symbolically into the situation of the monks, depicting visually the alignment of their will to Christ’s.
At the conclusion of the film, Spohn spoke to the the Rover about how Of Gods and Men underscores the penitential themes of Lent, saying, “[You] learn to slow down and hunger a bit because the pacing of the film is contemplative, so in that sense it takes us out to bring us back into sort of how we carry our own crosses and our own lives.”
She continued, “It was great to really just spend two hours with them and to enter into their liturgical way of life.”
Graduate student Ren Steneman expressed similar sentiments as he told the Rover, “It was a really deep, contemplative movie and called to mind Lenten penance.”
Also in attendance was Justin Petrisek, Research and Publications Program Manager for the dCEC. Relating how he was first introduced to the film by a former professor during a discussion about the Four Last Things, Petrisek told the Rover, “This movie was really presented to me as the completion of these last things, what is most important in our lives. I think that it is also a great Lenten reminder too. It reminded me so much from the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday that we are going to die. In a movie like this, it gives us that stark representation of what we would do if we were in that situation. What are we called to do?”
Petrisek also expressed appreciation for the film’s artistic portrayals, saying, “We are part of a faith that uses images, all throughout and the beauty of Lent is that our work, even what we eat, all of that is focused on Christ. So even something like our entertainment, to be able to use that to come together as a community and as a way to contemplate him more deeply.”
The next installment of the Lenten Film Series, featuring a showing of Arrival (2016), will be held on Friday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Andrews Auditorium in Geddes Hall.
Rylen Lastrella is a Program of Liberal Studies major who loves California, but is still praying for its revival that turns more hearts to the Church and fewer people to ‘find themselves’ on a yoga mat. If you’d like to talk about the best state in the nation, he can be reached at rlastrel@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: IMDb
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