What might have been a heartfelt African tragedy falters under the heavy hand of Sean Penn who does here, what he once claimed Terrence Malick was guilty of: (with words to the effect... 'Creating something that looked good on paper but failing to transcribe it to film'. Shoddy hand held photography, poor composition, disjointed editing - with scenes that should have been short, left long, and visa-versa. Sound was another problem, people whisper - with it all being so low, as not to be heard. Eye rolling arty shots without purpose - a story that's on again-off again, with performers doing what they can but, being left all at sea by their overindulging director.
A movie maker seemingly pushing his political views - at the expense of third world persons lost to the corruption within their own leaders and an uncaring world - surrounded by repugnant violence (some of the violence is realistically shocking) Mr Penn may (or may not) have his heart in the right place but tends to allow the shadowy edge of politics to blind his visionary vocation. At one point some innocent victims exclaim 'In the name of Jesus' - the people there to help them reply: 'what about in OUR name'? Maybe that's just the point - take Christ's unconditional love from these poor souls and they have exactly nothing! - So, what does the story teller dislike most, the love or the forgiveness? Some music choices on the sound track help to a small degree but sadly, self importance does not, a good movie make. Like other Penn movies this seems to run forever, needlessly.
