Antoine Fuqua's devastating film, Tears of the Sun (2003), focuses on a civil war raging through Nigeria, in which a U.S. Navy team have been sent to rescue American national Dr. Kendricks. As the team, led by Lieutenant A. K. Waters (Bruce Willis), attempt to move Dr. Kendrick and her Nigerian patients to the Cameroon boder, they are pursued by the Rebel who are killing their way through the African land. The film balances a sensitive, emotional story with tense action that keeps you stuck to your chair.
The plight of Africa is a recurring theme for many filmmakers, and Fuqua has managed to create a movie that discussed many aspects of the continent's troubles. Issues such as child soldiers, tribal conflict, and the rules of war are brought to the surface, which can often be over-sentimentalized. However, Tears of the Sun manages to avoid an overly moralistic approach, and just displays the story with an almost cold detachment, which allows the audience to interact with the themes far more effectively. An example of this is Willis' character, whose determination to "get the job done" allows him to avoid getting attached to the suffering of those around him.
While the film focuses mainly on Africa's woes, it also makes insightful comments on the West, in particular America's intervention into international crises which, during the 1990s, was ineffective in comparison to the resources they held.
The film has several cheese moments (which seem inescapable in an American war film), but these are only few and far between. Fuqua has created a poignant and gutsy movie, which does not linger on the pointless details, but fires the issues straight into the audience's face.
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