All's Fair in Love and War

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2012)

This is a well-made film. It's not merely a docudrama; it is suspenseful and the characters' drama is meaningful and engaging.
I am puzzled by the criticism the movie is too violent. It only seems too violent if you have never seen the evening news or a documentary about war. In comparison, this movie is restrained in its depiction of violence.
I'm also mystified by the charge some have made that the movie is biased. We all know these events occurred; there is no controversy. In fact the movie seems to go out of its way to give some history that makes the perpetrators' hatred less inexplicable. I learned some things about the history of the region that I hadn't known.
Angelina Jolie has successfully made the transition to writer/director. The film is shot like an action movie in many scenes. Most of the film is gripping, but towards the end I started to feel like it was going on a tad too long. But then again, so did the war.
I wasn't sure I liked the final scene. But I do think Jolie deserves praise for an ending that overall, was believable and made sense in light of everything that had occurred among the characters.