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by Jim Pappas Published: October 25, 2003
 Sarah (Angelina Jolie) and Nick (Clive Owen) share a romantic moment in “Beyond Borders.” “Once you hear the click you know it is too late,” says the one legged driver to his passenger, Sarah Jordan-Bauford (Angelina Jolie), in describing what happens when you step on a land mine. And once you see the end credits begin to scroll, you know it is too late to “unsee” “Beyond Borders,” a romance movie masquerading as a politically conscious “statement” about relief workers who toil mostly thanklessly around our world in all the “hot spots” and danger zones where human suffering is caused by political and social conflict. Places like Ethiopia, Chechnya and Cambodia. Actually, it is those very locations (Namibia filling in as Ethiopia, Thailand as Cambodia and Canada as Chechnya) where Sarah conducts a love affair with a doctor, Nick Callahan (Clive Owen) that is spread out over 12 years from Ethiopia in 1984 to Chechnya in 1995. Sarah is first introduced to Dr. Callahan as he shoves her to the floor of a banquet room in a hotel in London in 1984 where, as a newlywed, she is attending a banquet in honor of her husband’s (Linus Roache) father for his work with a relief organization. Callahan crashes that party with a young Ethiopian boy in tow, as it seems Dr. Callahan’s refugee camp is losing funding, which is hurting his efforts to save the 30,000 people he is helping there. The good doctor attempts to shock the audience into action by parading the young child in front of them in all of his starving glory. Dr. Callahan does not manage to win over the attendees, and is instead arrested where he is later bailed out by a shadowy, possibly CIA operative named Steiger ( Yorick van Wageningen) who promises funding help for some “favors.” Of course our intrepid, morally high-minded doctor refuses Steiger’s aid and goes back to Ethiopia with apparently nothing to show for his efforts. Little does Dr. Callahan know, but his performance at the banquet so impressed Sarah that she must go to his camp in Ethiopia with a convoy loaded with supplies. It is there that the attraction becomes apparent to us, although they do nothing with each other to suggest there is a love affair brewing and instead she becomes good friends with another worker, Elliott Hauser, played by Noah Emmerich. Hauser and Sarah correspond over the years, which is how she keeps track of Callahan. Sarah eventually ends up working for the U.N. which allows her to, periodically, pop up in those locations where Callahan is working. Together they face danger and share their passion for helping others. Sarah’s marriage has become a loveless union, and she believes she has found her soul mate in Callahan. He thinks so, too. For a movie that is supposed to be romantic, there is precious little emotion on display, and we are never given any real good reason to care about any of the people involved, including the refugees. There are a few scenes of brutality and suffering, but they have no resonance and as a result I found myself unmoved and generally bored with what I was watching. The film was directed by Martin Campbell who just walks everyone through their paces efficiently without drawing out any real emotion from his cast. One would think that telling a story about the frustrations faced by heroic people while trying to save innocent refugees from certain death would be moving and heartrending, but here I was only moved to get out of my seat in the theater and get in the seat of my car. For those of you who are fans of Ms. Jolie, take heart. She isn’t bad in the movie but it is hard for any actor to give us a great performance when the script just doesn’t have any emotion in it. The screenplay, by Caspian Treadwell-Owen is just so tepid that none of the players in the film ever have a chance to win us over. Of note is the musical score by the always reliable James Horner. It was one of the few things I enjoyed in this film. Overall Rating: C |
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