Father Geek here... this just arrived at the Geek Headquarter's Compound in the Central Texas Hill Country...
French Frye's Beyond Borders review:
I saw this film on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. I was moved to tears at some points and was impressed by the beautiful scenery and realistic performances.
Angelina Jolie plays Sara (in a "regular Joe" role unlike her many eccentric characters). But her real life character is not forgotten when her sister mentions that it is better to be thought of as crazy then to be remembered for being normal. The story is about Sara becoming emotionally overwhelmed when she sees a starving little Ethiopian boy at a charity benefit brought by Clive Owen, who plays Nick (Wow, do I really love this actor). He brings the little boy to make a point about the smugness of the donators extravagant party while others are without food and shelter. She is outraged when the boy dies in the cold after sneaking away from being arrested. So she decides to make a change in the world and travels to Ethiopia, leaving behind her English husband and all the wealth a person could want.
Sara is striking in her black hair and pristine white outfits (although if it was me in the desert they'd be completely trashed in about 5 minutes - very Hollywood!) Nick's rugged masculinity and reality based confidence grabs Sara's attention and she follows him to help people in Cambodia and finally, years later, to Chechnya to rescue him.
"Beyond Borders" is like a fast paced travel adventure, beautifully shot - and reminded me of glamorous films of the 30's and 40's. Each location was tinted in its own color, giving the film distinct reds, greens and grey colors - really breathtaking, and the desolate locales become inviting in their saturated colors and textures, even in poverty. However, I did not buy her and her husband's dialogue (too awkward) and sometimes she shows up places for no reason, including the very start of the film.
The ending is a surprise and is very touching but I won't spoil it so you can see for yourself. I highly recommend this film.
