I sat alone in The Moviehouse upstairs theater at the late showing of “Of Gods and Men” and wondered what keeps audiences away from serious foreign “art” films. No doubt throngs were filling the seats for the likes of “Thor” and “Bridesmaids.” What they were missing was a gripping and probing examination of the meaning of faith amidst violence, free will versus absolute commitment, and whether love can triumph over evil. On a more concrete level, “Of Gods and Men” offers moviegoers a chance to take in true mastery of the medium: cinematography that is not only beautiful but aids and abets the story; dialogue that is at once natural, multilayered, and profound; pacing and direction that make a disquieting yet uplifting mood. Based on a true story of French Trappist monks in Algeria who were kidnapped and murdered in 1996, Xavier Beauvois’ film was a multiple-award-winner, taking second prize at Cannes last year. One of its first shots is of an old monk, shown from the back, slowly making his way down a hallway of the monastery with a mop. Such scenes of quotidian existence — cooking, cleaning, growing food, praying, a priest/doctor caring for sick villagers — recur frequently throughout the movie. More than just the warp and woof of everyday monastic life, they represent an orderly progression toward both death and spiritual awakening. In stark contrast, episodes of increasing violence perpetrated by both Islamic extremists and government troops locked in an escalating civil war connote a chaotic, unpredictable and godless world. As these horrors grow ever closer to the monastery, they present the monks with a divisive dilemma, whether to abandon their home and calling or to remain and face certain death. The camera’s shifting perspective, beginning with that shot from behind and gradually, scene by scene, taking us closer into the faces and eyes of the brothers, is a key to the drama. From near-anonymous figures, the monks become fully formed characters, more human and flawed than godlike (hence the film’s title). In fact, the movie is not afraid to implicate the missionaries, and the former colonial masters whom they represent, in the troubles of their adopted country. A cast of astonishing actors, mostly unknown to American audiences, allows us to feel as if we are looking deep into their souls. Lambert Wilson as Christian, head of the monastery, Michael Lonsdale as Luc, the doctor, and Olivier Rabourdin (who may be familiar from his role as the Parisian police chief in “Taken”) as the conflicted monk Christophe are the standouts. An indelible, wordless scene involving a dinner, a Last Supper, really, accompanied by the incongruous, tragic music of “Swan Lake,” drives the movie toward its heartbreaking conclusion. Is the coming transformation sensual, made of flesh? Or is it made of more holy stuff? Sometimes movies do not need to be “feel-good” comedies or feature 3D explosions to give us cinematic satisfaction. I hope more people will join me in my lonely vigil and help keep small, independent, foreign, and art films alive and well in our community.“Of Gods and Men” is rated PG-13 for startling wartime violence, some disturbing images and brief language. If you miss it locally, look for it on DVD.
Latest News
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided
Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.
