Beyond Borders is an appropriate title for a story that attempts to transcend boundaries. Unfortunately, That's just the problem.
Sarah Bauford (Angelina Jolie) is a wealthy American, driven to action after aid worker Nick Callahan (Clive Owen) storms a black-tie charity ball to protest funding cuts. With her own money she travels to Ethiopia to revive Nick's dying organization, and the two fall in love. Sarah's infatuation eventually overshadows her dedication to humanitarian activism--and to her family in London--as she follows Nick from one war-torn country to the next.
Is it a message movie? A love story? Borders doesn't succeed as either. The film has no focus, and warrants no emotional investment.
The movie seems to imply, as many shallow love stories have in the past, that shared hardships alone are a sufficient basis for a deep and lasting love. Sarah and Nick's relationship isn't convincing enough to draw attention from the disturbing images of war and famine; yet these themes are forcibly relegated to the background.
Borders is not entirely without merit. It's visually impressive, and the imagery of starving children and dying mothers is enough to shake even the most jaded of viewers. But while the details are fine, the bigger picture is disjointed and its message indistinct.
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