March 10, 2003 -- "Tears of the Sun" is an action film with more than just action. It has character development and it deals with serious, substantial issues facing the world today. The issues it deals with are as immediate and as important as the debate over the wisdom of initiating a war with Iraq.

Bruce Willis ("Unbreakable") stars as Lieutenant A.K. Waters, in command of a squad of Navy Seals sent to rescue a group of foreign nationals being threatened by rebel troops in Nigeria, Africa. Upon arriving at a remote village the squad finds Dr. Lena Kendricks (played by Monica Bellucci of "Brotherhood of the Wolf"), but she refuses to leave unless her ambulatory patients are also evacuated. Waters contacts his commander on the ship Capt. Bill Rhodes (played by Tom Skerritt of "Contact"), who tells him only the doctor, a priest and two nuns, all foreign nationals, can be evacuated. Waters decides to lie to Kendricks, since that is the only way he can persuade her to leave. He tells her everyone will be evacuated. He forcibly puts Kendricks on the helicopter, but the rest of the refugees are left behind at the rendezvous point, some miles from the medical compound. On the way back to the ship, those on the chopper see that everyone in the medical facility has been massacred. Guilt-ridden, Waters orders the chopper to return to where the refugees were left behind. He puts as many refugees as he can on the helicopters and decides to lead Kendricks and the rest of the refugees on a desperate march to the nearby border of Cameroon where they can find sanctuary.

The men in Waters' command are surprised by his decision, and some disagree with it, but all agree to make the forced march and try to protect the refugees from the murderous bands of troops, under the command of a military ruler who has overthrown the democratic Nigerian government. Bands of rebel troops are killing members of some local tribes as part of an "ethnic cleansing" operation. Squad members include James "Red" Atkins (Cole Hauser of "Pitch Black") Ellis "Zee" Pettigrew (Eamonn Walker of HBO’s "Oz"), Kelly Lake (Johnny Messner of "The Sweetest Thing"), Michael "Slo" Slowenski (Nick Chinlund of "Training Day"), Danny "Doc" Kelley (Paul Francis of "Pearl Harbor"), Jason "Flea" Mabry (Chad Smith) and Demetrius "Silk" Owens (Charles Ingram).

Relentlessly pursued by a large rebel force, the march to the Cameroon border becomes more and more desperate. Terrible massacres, rapes and murders are witnessed by the squad, who become more and more involved in trying to stop this slaughter, as well as trying to escape with the refugees. Waters is unable to explain why he has chosen such a dangerous road to travel, and why he is risking court martial, when he could have saved himself and his men and taken the easy way out by following orders. It appears he became fed up with standing by and doing nothing while innocent people are killed. He felt he had to make an effort to help them. Even though the forces opposed to the squad are incredibly evil, the choice Waters made was very difficult for him and his men. This is not a simple tale of heroism. It is a story about complex political and moral choices. The issue is defined more clearly than in last year's similar war film "Black Hawk Down."

While "Black Hawk Down" shows what can happen when a humanitarian military mission goes bad, "Tears of the Sun" makes the argument that the risk of failure is worth it. The issues raised in this movie are very similar to the ones in the debate over whether or not a war with Iraq is justified. Saddam Hussein is a corrupt, ruthless leader who has killed his own people by the thousands in Iraq, using chemical weapons banned by international treaties. Those who would frame the debate entirely in America's self-interest argue that as bad as he is he poses no credible threat to America. This movie argues there are other considerations besides pure self-interest. The Iraqi people are human beings and they deserve a better life. In a sense, then, this film makes arguments that could be labeled conservative in today's political climate (although the same arguments would have supported President Clinton's more liberal policies in Kosovo and Somalia).

Because this film may be considered politically conservative, it will get its share of attacks from left-wing critics. Politics aside, it is a good film with a terrific acting job by Bruce Willis. The photography by Mauro Fiore ("Highway") and Keith Solomon is excellent. Night time jungle scenes are hard to photograph, but these guys do it flawlessly. The direction by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day") is also top notch. The mix of action and character development is very good. This is a thinking person's action movie. Of course it is not without its share of movie clichés, including low-cut clothing for the women, a common feature in action movies. The structure of the film is also very familiar, but it is better crafted than many films of this genre and its heart is in the right place. It rates a B.

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Copyright © 2003 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.