Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Even though I’d read nothing but bad reviews of Beyond Borders, (one was even titled “Beyond Bad”) I went to see it with my friend Katy, a huge Angelina Jolie fan. While the imagery of refugee camps in Ethiopia, Cambodia, and Chechnya features gorgeous scenery and shockingly gruesome conditions, the love story at the center of this film makes a mockery of the courageous work of humanitarians. If all aid workers were as impulsive and silly as Angelina Jolie’s character Sarah, victims of famine and war would be in even worse shape than they already are.

Not only will you leave the cinema hating Sarah, the film could have negative effects on volunteers. According to news source Reuters:
“Critics say the fictional story line, in which the doctor’s nongovernmental organization gets involved in weapons dealing for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, could encourage extremist attacks on aid workers in hot spots such as Baghdad, where suicide bombers last month targeted the Red Cross headquarters.”

I wouldn’t go that far, and, besides, Beyond Borders, a story of what people will do out of desperation, has its own problems.

The film begins with Sarah attending a “Black and White” ball in London for a relief charity. The chosen colors of attire at the dinner match this film’s tone, as everything is extreme and heavy-handed. Sarah, is, of course, dressed all in white, so we are supposed to think of her as an angel. The dinner-dance is interrupted by Nick Callahan (Clive Owen), a British doctor who has been working in Ethiopia. He makes an emotional plea to the group for more money, pointing out that they don’t need their fancy food and clothes when children like Jo-Jo (the boy he has brought with him) are dying of starvation. Sarah is so moved by the charming doctor’s display that she decides to raise money for supplies and bring them to Africa herself.

The image of Sarah sitting in a truck in the middle of the African desert wearing a white, designer outfit and sunglasses is striking but hilarious. It draws attention to the fact that everything else on the landscape is brown and dusty, but I wondered how anyone could be so naïve to bring nice clothes and perfume to an area being destroyed by famine.

On the way to the refugee camp, Sarah insists on picking up a dying boy and his mother on the side of the road. Their wounds and protruding bones due to starvation are so gruesome that I had to close my eyes. Sarah pleads with Nick to save the mother and child, but he tells her that nothing can be done. His cynicism is almost as extreme as Sarah’s naïveté, but they (shock of all shocks!) bring each other toward the middle and fall in love.

I thought that the film was going to focus on the plight of refugees or something else worthwhile. Instead, it wants us to sympathize with the plight of Sarah and Nick, two star-crossed lovers. I could understand that they were distraught to not be together at first, but Sarah is married with children, so her main priority should be her family. Instead, she leaves her family in the middle of the night to follow Nick into war-torn areas, risking both of their lives. Sarah is supposed to be a heroine, but she just seems ignorant, petty, and flaky. I’m surprised that the UN allowed this film to have its name on it with such an asinine woman playing one of its employees.

Of course, Beyond Borders is full of long, meaningful stares, dramatic speeches, unrealistic dialogue, and more cheesy lines than I choose to remember. I do reluctantly admit, however, that the chemistry and passion between Sarah and Nick is certainly there.

Beyond Borders tries to do too much. Because the film follows Nick and Sarah through ten years and four different countries, the film seems rather shallow and superficial. Some of the details reflect sheer laziness on the part of the filmmakers. For instance, Sarah lives and works in London, but she sees her sister, an American newscaster, on TV one day reporting on the fall of the Berlin Wall. Also, Sarah and her husband live in an insanely huge house that is supposed to be in London. As if.

The settings are beautiful, and there are some very moving moments as innocent people are killed. However, Angelina Jolie’s character makes this film seem more fluffy and fake than her collagen-filled lips.



Recommended: No

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age