These Trappists were transplanted Frenchmen, who had established themselves in a very simple monastery nestled in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria. They worked almost exclusively among the Muslims who inhabited the tiny towns and villages nearby. One of their number was a doctor, who provided basic medical care for hundreds of poor; their abbot was a decent and intelligent man, who in his spare time studied the Quran so as better to understand the people whom he served and for whom he prayed. The prayer life of the monks — which the movie conveys very effectively — was spare and beautiful, grounded in the rhythms of the Psalms.

The drama of the film centers around the growing influence of radical Islam in the vicinity of the monastery. Tales are heard of threats and murders, and then the violence strikes close to home as a group of Croatians are found just outside the village with their throats slit. On Christmas Eve, gunmen break into the Trappist monastery and demand to see the abbot. Coolly, he reminds them that no guns are allowed in a place of peace and that the militants are interrupting the celebration of the birth of the prophet Issa (Jesus), who is, of course, reverenced by Muslims. Impressed by the monk’s courage, and more than a little embarrassed, the armed men slink away. But the Trappists know that it is only a matter a time before more dangerous extremists will be back.

Accordingly, they commence to debate whether they should stay or return to France or perhaps relocate to another monastic enclosure in a safer sector of Algeria. From the first, the abbot is adamant that, in accord with their vows of stability and out of love for the people they serve, they should remain. But a few of his brothers sharply disagree, arguing that remaining would be tantamount to suicide. Some of the most affecting scenes in the film are the depictions of the intense, honest and deeply respectful manner in which these Christian men deliberate this very serious matter. In time, all of the brothers come around to the abbot’s point of view and resolve to stay, despite the danger.

Luc, the doctor monk played by the wonderful French character actor Michael Lonsdale, beautifully expresses his conviction that he is a free man, since he is willing to endure life or death, ease or hardship, according to God’s plan. Just after we hear of the monks’ collective resolve, the filmmaker gives us an image, at once weird and spiritually powerful, of Luc tenderly caressing a painting of the crucified Jesus: a free man acknowledging the source of his freedom.

As the Trappists feared, gunmen return. Islamist militants roughly drag the monks from their beds in the middle of the night and load them onto a truck. They then drive them deep into the wilderness and, on a snowy morning, force-march the Trappists into the woods. The final scene of the film is the snowy atmosphere gradually closing around the freezing men as they walk toward the forest. Though this is not depicted in the movie, the Trappists of Tibhirine were put to death and their headless bodies were later discovered...

Read the rest of the review by visiting the National Catholic Register website.