Sans frontière

Beyond Borders brings to light the very realistic struggles of the millions of refugees created by war and the valiant efforts of aid workers who contribute to their survival in spite of overwhelming odds. The storyline of crossing your life's borders away from a comfortable life to help other struggling human beings is a story worth being told. In this type of humanitarian experience, every aid worker I have come into contact with has described the experience as extremely enriching. I'm saddened most of America did not embrace this subject matter at the box office. We, as Americans, live a very comfortable life comparatively, and perhaps it's out of fear, complacency or just selfishness that we generally do not cross borders to help fellow human beings. This attitude does not make us very popular around the world, but perhaps if more people become aware and did something to help other people in their struggles, the world would be a better and safer place to live.

As a journalist who covered the Afghan / Soviet war, recently watching the "Making of" on the DVD was compelling to see how the filmmakers made something so realistic without putting their cast or crew in harms way. I hope this film will be embraced as a DVD so that studios will continue to make films of solid subject matter. Angelina Jolie was well-cast in this role for she (in real life) is the Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR). She brought much passion into this role, and while she appeared a little "girlish" initially, the character had to grow out of her pampered life for us to follow her across the borders both real and metaphoric. I am pleased she was brave enough to embrace such a role, and hope she will continue to grow in her range of acting choices. Noah Emmerich reminded me of a very gentle Aid worker I knew killed on the job, which tugged at my heart strings. While Clive Owen's portrayal of a man who closes off his heart to survive the cruelty of every day life in the war zone is accurate, for the general public who has probably not lived through these extreme conditions, it's difficult to empathize or care. I'm sure that is why there might be a general dislike of this character. For a handful of my friends, the romantic connection was unrealistic, but in reality if you're living day to day in such extreme conditions and you're friend dies, you'll let down your guard just to feel alive. I'm sure a lot of people had sex just after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The excellent production design, cinematography and poignant music moved the story forward, but while I loved this subject matter, I also felt the transitions between three very distant locations caused the film to feel somewhat disjointed. Perhaps that was due to "behind the scene" budget constraints (maybe some transition scenes were cut before they could shoot them) or perhaps some studio executive was pushing the film out to theaters before the cut was ready because the investors were crying out for their ROI. Who knows what the politics were...

Either way, I liked the film, am going to buy the DVD and will definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to be inspired beyond their own border. I certainly was.

This movie leaves you speechless, and takes you to a new emotional level. I feel this movie will not reach people like it should though... People and Middle America will pass it off and just play it up as Hollywood hype and just really not want to acknowledge what is happening in the real world... This movie is a 10 and I just hope it can bring light to subject matters that just get pushed under the carpet.

Perhaps lingering is the wrong word, since as I write this, I only left the theater about 30 minutes ago... But I can still feel my heart clenched in my chest, and my mind is still rolling back and forth over what I've just seen. In my experience, those are the kinds of films that stay with you.

There have been a lot of reviews on both sides as far as Beyond Borders goes, and I think it comes down to knowing yourself as a movie viewer. Beyond Borders presents you with a glimpse of the world, and it asks you to believe in it, to internalize it. If you're the kind of person who can EXPERIENCE a film, rather than just kick back and watch it, than you'll be brushing flies out of your eyes, and jumping at every sudden burst of gunfire. You'll be overwhelmed by the desperation around you, and you'll feel despair, and helplessness, and you'll think "Good for those people who go to Ethiopia/to Chechnya/to Cambodia. I'm so glad someone's helping," and then deep down, you'll be ashamed to realize that you think that just because you elected to see a movie about Relief Workers rather than The Texas Chainsaw Massacres, you deserve some sort of gold star.

And yes, there is the love story. And if you love love stories (as do I) you'll love this one. Again, it comes down to how much you'll let your self believe in a movie, and how much you expect to be convinced. Certainly, I would NEVER accuse Angelina Jolie and Clive Owens of sharing no chemistry, as I was completely unable to breathe during most of the scenes they shared. Both actors excelled in their roles, together and separately.

No, it wasn't fast-paced. It wasn't full of witty acerbic dialogue, or fantastic car chases. There were no jokes about bodily functions. It was just sincere, and powerful, and good (in every sense of the world). Though it was by no means perfect, I gladly rated it a 10 for excellence.

This movie might not have been deemed the best movie in the world; and we here in America certainly are in a position to critique; we have access to more movies, etc. then probably any other country in the world: Hollywood rules the cinema! With that said, I would like to interject, that although this movie may not have been a cinemographic great, hopefully it did accomplish one thing; and in doing that, only that redemption may needed: To get 'Fat Americans' to --Think. We are a country of "Comfort Zone Couch Potatoes." If something is unpleasant, we can employ the remote to sustain our comfort zone--we can turn the channel. Those places that were depicted in the film DO actually exist, and human suffering and atrocities REALLY DO go on. In a genre such as film, if even for a moment, perhaps long enough that even those who would chose to 'critique' said film, even those individuals had to have had watched enough to realize that, yes, such things really do go on--today, now. And for those of us who read of such atrocities, but otherwise are insulated from such horrors, have our consciences jarred, if only for a moment, but hopefully, even if only momentarily, long enough that we don't have our consciences--Seared. If any movie can say that it has performed such a public service, I would say that it has redeemed itself of any other shortcomings; creative or otherwise.

I agree 98% with what Mentalcritic has to say about this film. I, too, felt that Jolie's character is quite selfish and though she did what she thought was the most helpful and self-sacrificing it was in fact pointless and irresponsible. There is, however, some good that comes of films like these.

The general public who would never know of the situations portrayed in the film are now introduced to a world they may never have known existed. I have been honored to serve overseas for aid purposes and was amazed when several friends(even those who know of my experience) would ask unbelievingly "The movie is a bit extreme. Things like that don't actually happen, right?" Sadly, what Beyond Borders showed us was the milder side of the world's human rights issues. It stimulates the humanitarian in an otherwise ignorant audience.