Sony Pictures Classics has acquired another Cannes favorite, picking up Xavier Beauvois’ “Of Gods and Men” (“Des Hommes et des Dieux”) for distribution in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
The film deals with a group of French Christian monks who live in a monastery in North Africa, but whose lifestyle is threatened by increasing violence at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. The film is loosely based on a true story that took place in 1996.
At Screen Daily, Jonathan Romney called the film a “thoughtful but urgent piece showing that Beauvois has matured into a masterly director with tight, calm control of his material.”
Critic Matt Noller at Slant magazine, on the other hand, said it was “somber and respectful to a fault: the Cannes equivalent of Oscar bait."
Earlier in the festival, Sony Classics acquired Mike Leigh’s “Another Year,” one of the festival’s most acclaimed films, as well as Susanne Bier’s “In a Better World,” which is not an official festival entry.
Sony Classics made the deal with the film’s sales agent, Wild Bunch
