Based on a 18th century story this quite dull film is based. Vincent Cassel is “The Monk” from the title. He was raised in a monastry and has the best sermons in the area. He is tested by the devil and fails miserably. I do not really know what this film lacks. The settings are nice, the acting is not bad (Cassel surely makes a broad CV with this film), the story is not even that boring. Perhaps it is the slow pace, but that does not always bother me. Maybe the atmosphere did not work entirely. I am not sure, but I did not really like this film.