Alicia I love this movie so much

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

SnoopyStyle In December 1595, a baby is left at the Capuchin monastery just outside of Madrid. The monks debated and decided to raise the boy in the monastery. He would become their best orator Ambrosio (Vincent Cassel). The church is packed as his brand of strict faith inspires the congregation. Only his actions may lead him down a thorny path.Vincent Cassel has a natural intensity. This could have been a very powerful and profound movie. The story is there to put on film. But this movie has little movement. Most of the time, the characters do not move at all. It is all talk, and some of it is confoundingly slow. Other than two or three exchanges, most of the dialog could have been slash in half. The story is there. If starving a pregnant nun to death in a dungeon cell isn't compelling, then I don't know what is. The problem is everything in between. And the twist is as telegraphed as they come. This could have been a great character study as this man get more outrageous as the movie goes along. Instead, Cassel isn't allow to physically act. There is a good story but this isn't a good film. It's a promise unfulfilled.

Roland E. Zwick Based on the Matthew Gregory Lewis novel published in 1796, the oft-adapted "The Monk" is a cinematic oddity about a 16th Century Spanish friar (the understated Victor Cassel) who's winning souls to Christ despite the fact that he is deep into his own crisis of faith (though the movie takes place in Spain, the dialogue is in French). The screenplay by Dominik Moll (who also directed the film) and Anne-Loiuse Trividic is rich in irony as Friar Ambrosio seeks salvation from the very same people who are seeking it from him. Only, in his case, salvation lies in becoming MORE worldly - particularly in the realm of sexuality - not less so. Raised an orphan in the monastery, Ambrosio is coming to realize that there are aspects of the outside world that his cloistered existence has never allowed him to experience, and that, perhaps, God is reaching out to him with the message that it might not be all that bad for him to give himself over to them.Many people and factors seem to be conspiring to bring him to this realization, including a woman disguised as a mask-wearing monk (her cover is that she claims to have suffered disfiguring burns to "his" face); a beautiful, innocent young woman who comes to him for spiritual guidance; a pregnant nun; a series of supernatural dreams and visions; a really nasty poisonous centipede, and a strategically placed, crashing gargoyle.Or is he simply falling prey to the Devil's lies and machinations and trying to find a way to justify rebelling against God? It takes about half the length of the movie before we are finally hooked into the story, but, once we are, it becomes a powerful dissertation on the struggle between the flesh and the spirit that has defined the human condition for as long as we have inhabited this planet. The overly enigmatic plotting and deliberate pacing that function as distancing devices at the outset of the movie eventually pay off as the movie's theme crystallizes into sharper view.

sriram_m "Isn't it strange how we fail to see the meaning of things, until it suddenly dawns on us?" Are monks greater than common people spiritually? Finally, this monk sees purity in common people more than him. What is right, what is wrong, who will decide it? What is sin, who will judge it? Is it church? Or priests? Is it relation between man and women a sin? It is the story of monk who has seen the cruelty of his traditional monkhood and illusions of his purity. At the time of facing world and his inner instincts, he becomes meaner than a criminal. His cruel pride of holiness becomes not but vein. Director Dominik Moll becomes one of the great directors in the world with this move. The way he made this movie is highly spiritual. His insight is outstanding. Photography and music are soul stirring. Amazing sound recording and art. Some Traditional Catholics may not like this movie. But seekers of truth belong to any religion must watch this movie. It is truly artistic and philosophical. It is highly recommended.

Armand Beautiful images. Good cast. Generous idea and inspiring option for a successful adaptation. And final taste of sand. Result - a movie who may be more interesting, a seductive dusty story and silhouette of Vincent Cassel,drop-presence of Geraldine Chaplin and a tale told in haste and careless. Few crumbs from Spanish picture and fruits of sufficiency and self-deception. Sin as shadow of snake in the heart of every Faust. And music as oil for dark bread. A Catholic movie about price of Icarus flight. The rush is principal error. And the desire to create a powerful moral lesson. So, at final, the basic virtue is inspiring play of Cassell. Is it enough ? Maybe.