Dumbed-down, sentimental, superficial version of history

Rating: 5/10 (24 February 2006)

The only possible explanation I can think of for the high regard and score for this film is that people are reviewing the theme, or the intentions, rather than the movie itself.
I found the script incredibly puerile. I felt embarrassed for the actors having to say lines like "How can people be so cruel?" or Joaquin Phoenix exclaiming "I feel so ashamed" because a porter holds an umbrella over his head.
It was no surprise to learn that the writer, an editor, wrote it in his spare time, and had not written anything before. There are no rounded characters, only mouthpieces for the humanitarian message that the writers are trying to convey.
The story is decent enough, and there are some effective scenes such as a convoy of vehicles driving into an ambush, but all of these play better with the sound down. The dialog was more suited to a Steven Seagal action movie than a fact-based movie with serious pretensions. The director resorted too easily to slushy music to tell the audience how to feel. And the characters were paper-thin: the hero who loves children and animals, the angelic aid worker, the cowardly bad guys.
Given the subject matter, this review will probably come across as mealy-mouthed and uncharitable. But this is a site for reviewing movies, not causes.