Beyond Borders (2003)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writer (WGA):

Caspian Tredwell-Owen (written by)

Release Date:

24 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

In A Place She Didn't Belong, Among People She Never Knew, She Found A Way To Make A Difference.

Plot:

Beyond Borders is an epic tale of the turbulent romance between two star-crossed lovers set against...

Plot Keywords:

Africa | Doctor | Convoy | Arrest | Spit In The Face

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Angelina Jolie	...	Sarah Jordan
Clive Owen	...	Nick Callahan
Teri Polo	...	Charlotte Jordan
Linus Roache	...	Henry Bauford
Noah Emmerich	...	Elliott Hauser
Yorick van Wageningen	...	Steiger
Timothy West	...	Lawrence Bauford
Kate Trotter	...	Mrs. Bauford
Jonathan Higgins	...	Philip (as Johnathan Higgins)
John Gausden	...	Jimmy Bauford
Isabelle Horler	...	Anna Bauford
Iain Lee	...	Master of Ceremonies
Keelan Anthony	...	Jojo
John Bourgeois	...	Rolly
Kalyane Tea	...	Steiger's Girlfriend

Also Known As:

Jenseits aller Grenzen (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and war-related violence.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Amharic | Khmer | German | Catalan

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #39656) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Charlevoix Region, Québec, Canada

Company:

Mandalay Pictures

Trivia:

Amputees shown in the scene at Khmer Rouge were actual land-mine victims.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Sarah says that Namibia is on the Ivory Coast of Africa, when it actually is on the Skeleton Coast.

Quotes:

Nick Callahan: You're not wearing perfume.

Movie Connections:

References "St. Elsewhere" (1982)

Soundtrack:

Should I Stay or Should I Go

Sad but as realistic as can be

I didn't even know about this movie until I chanced upon a trailer of it and then realised it hadn't even made it to the cinemas. I wondered why so I searched on IMDb, most comments are mixed but I reckoned I should give the movie a watch but couldn't get hold of the DVD until now. Only then did I know why it never made it to the box office nor even near any cinemas in certain countries.

Let's face it - we go to the cinemas to forget our problems and not be reminded of them which is precisely the reason why movies like these don't make any money but others do. Most movies about injustice and persecution always have the good guys win in the end but this movie doesn't. In fact, we're introduced to the startling reality of the lives of volunteer workers and what they have to go through with all their good intentions in place. We are also introduced and/or reminded of the ugly side of humanity as to why certain countries will never be able to have peace because people are just too selfish fighting out their own agendas to spare any thought for another person.

Clive Owen was superb in this movie and whilst I would've liked to see him paired up with Catherine-Zeta Jones (the original choice for the female lead), Angelina Jolie was pretty decent as well. It could've been worst coz the behind-the-scenes commentary said their original male lead was Kevin Costner. No offence but I don't think he would've pulled it off. He's too 'The Bodyguard' if you know what I mean.

The love story is just a sub-plot and was so subtly done and there are no mushy lovey-dovey sequences to make your eyes roll. It's just a simple story about two people bonded by their common passion but whilst one chooses to act it out whole-heartedly, the other keeps a silent but burning fire for it. Now, that's love!

One commentator here said that this movie doesn't do any justice for the refugees and the victims but I must say that no movie can. Even if you do visit these places to see for yourself what really goes on, you have a choice - you can leave whilst these people don't so unless you are in that exact same position, I think nobody should ever try to comment about it because it's something I don't think none of us in developed countries can ever truly understand. Besides, this movie is about the volunteer workers and what they have to go through and the love story between the two leads as the backdrop to distract us from the painful realities depicted in the movie. I don't really agree with some inaccurate plots in certain movies but I don't know the 110% truth about this movie so I just accept it and then find out more about it if I want to. It's something you can't expect from movies anyway coz movies are not supposed to educate but just to entertain and maybe enlighten us a little. You want a 100% accurate show, then go watch National Geographic.

All in all, the filmmakers of Beyond Borders deserve some credit for trying to tell a story different from the rest of the junk playing in the cinemas nowadays. Some of you might have felt they didn't really succeed but I still think they gave it their best shot. Now, you have to give them at least that!