Film: Tears' Faulty Moralism

Explosions and heroics can be tasteless and fun, but Tears of the Sun crosses the line. This movie is deeply, disturbingly offensive. It's half CNN, half Army propaganda and half mediocre, explosive action-adventure. And hey, if that adds up to three halves, congratulations - you're smarter than Bruce Willis, who ought to have recognized these fundamental miscalculations in the first place.

Tears follows the evacuation of an American doctor from a mission in war-torn Nigeria, feeding off the same morbid images of civil war and brutal genocide that we used to see in the media back in the days before we forgot about Africa. Mass executions, burning villages, rape, slaughtered families and maimed children create the backdrop for the lackluster tale of a by-the-rules lieutenant's (Willis) attempt to reconcile his duty with his conscience. Should he evacuate the lovely Dr. Kendricks (Monica Bellucci), leaving two dozen refugees to certain slaughter in the hands of the rebel army? You know the answer.

This is a movie with a mission. Just in case you missed it, the words of Edmund Blake flash across the screen before the credits roll: "All it takes for evil to prevail in this world is for enough good men to do nothing." It's a simple and constructive message for our times: Think for yourself and act on your conscience. Laudable intentions, but this is just a well-timed pat on the back; this is Bruce Willis playing Army of One with big guns, nifty gadgets and the inscrutable smugness of someone who has made a Life Altering Moral Decision and expects some recognition. It's also fortuitously timed to underscore the feel-good potential of a few brave Americans in the right place at the right time.

This is nothing new; you've heard the story before. What I can't stomach is the juxtaposition of this tried-and-true, red-white-and-blue against the calculated violence of ethnic cleansing. Presumably, the brutality of big-screen genocide is surreal enough that we're expected to quench reflexive disgust with moral self-satisfaction.

We're supposed to walk out of the theater satisfied, basking in complacent approval. Take the stacked bodies, the severed limbs, the blood and the screams - crumple up those thoughts and throw them away with your candy wrappers and Coke bottles. These images of the refugees are incidental; they were never meant to leave the theater, and this is the most profound perversion of cinematic violence I have ever encountered.

-Katie Latanich