The general low rate given to the film can only be explained by the prejudice to the theme, the Western disinterest in debating Africa.
Surely the movie is not so weak to have a 4.7 rating.
Anyway, the movie is hard, very hard to watch. It shows one side of African life that no one in the West cares to know, much less give way to. And though a lot of people might think that the realism that Sean Penn employs in some scenes is exaggerated, in fact the real hell out there is much worse than in the movie. In addition we have the hard life of the doctors, impotent in the face of so much cruelty, and who still have to maintain the dignity and the healthy mind to continue his heroic work. Not everyone can handle it.
Good performance of Charlize and Javier, in a cast in general quite correct.
Unfortunately not everything is perfect and the direction sometimes is irregular, breaking the tense and distressing rhythm of the movie with romantic moments.
Still I give 7.0.
