Beyond Borders
Beyond Borders (2003)Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen.
I watched this film for the first time last night. I had seen it on the video store shelves numerous times and half thought about getting it, expecting just another war/action film that Angelina Jolie would be the hero of.
But last night I was pleasantly suprised.
Or perhaps they are not the right words. The film does, afterall, depict famine and disease and war torn nations in need of aid and the struggles of distributing that aid.
Impressed, perhaps. Impressed not only with the performances of Jolie and Clive Owen, or the filmmaking and cinematography - which were all very good. And impressed not only with the amazing set design and construction that went on in the production of this film (including creating camps in the african desert from scratch). But mostly with the fact that this film addresses a subject very rarely addressed by mainscreen cinema.
I say the words 'pleasantly suprised' are not appropriate because very little of this film is pleasant.
The film takes you through famine and disease striken Ethiopia, war torn Cambodia, and war torn Chechnya with doctor Nick (Owen) and Jolie as they try to help and save as many people as possible. Jolie plays the rich white woman living in London who wants to help out. She of course becomes much more involved than planned, and falls for Owen.
But as cliche as all that sounds (hence why i had lowish expectations), when you actually watch the film, you cannot help but be blown away or at least challenged to some extent by the injustice in this world and the need to help in some way. It does not glorify the work of these actors. It is realistic in the amount of conflict and struggles that the aid workers face in helping others.
There is also a very powerful and confronting contrast between a charity benefit held in london - fancy clothes, food and dancing - to the reality of what their money does and how far it actually gets.
This was of course the film that challenged Jolie and started her into all her aid work in third world countries. But you can see why. Holding a starving child in your arms, feeding him by wiping his lips with a finger of milk hoping for some sign of life, actor or not, thats gotta affect you.
As I read in a photographic magazine this week, "Narrative can make us understand. Photographs do something else: They haunt us."
Images in this film certainly do that.
I honestly cant say much more about this film because its impact is something i cannot fully describe. Perhaps, as I have said before, I am too often too impacted by films. But that is actually the point of this film. To awaken us to the help that is needed.
I for one will be praying for wisdom as to how I can personally best help out. But this world is fallen, it is suffering, and it needs a lot of prayer. I admire the doctors and aid workers out there. Yet I know they do not need my admiration, but my support and prayer.
In my opinion, this film is a must see!
2 Comments:
Sounds like heavy going but with Clive Owen it is tantalising (he's one of my favourite actors). I watchted It's A Wonderful Life yesterday for the first time (reviewed on my blog). Inspirational.
yeah i seem to be a fan of heavy going films haha...
yay for inspirational films - will have a read of your post now!
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