I rented this DVD because of the quality actors and director involved with it. I was not expecting lighthearted entertainment and you should not either. The first hour and a half is slow paced and feels like wading through molasses at times. The pace picks up in the last 40 minutes. If you are squeamish toward graphic realism in viewing or hearing about brutality and gore, you may want to pass this one by. The actors and director did a good job in the portrayal of it.
It is mainly a documentary with a bewildering love story woven throughout. If it were a bookend type story of now-then-now, it would be fine for me. I get their point that the doctors and aid staff are humans too and need love in their lives besides their work. That comes from the dialog where they say, "what about in the name of you and me". The back and forth of that story interrupts the flow and obfuscates the point they are trying to make.
Besides the physical love between Wren and Miguel, there is the love of their careers. Wren fell for him and his passion for healing when she arrived in Africa to get a first hand look at the reality her fundraising efforts supported. That was why their relationship failed, they both loved what they did as careers and Wren simply got to the point where she could no longer stomach the repetitious and never ending suffering. She wanted to go back to a safer world where raising money would be valid help for both victims and boots on the ground staff.
The sudden interjection about Miguel's affair with a staffer who contracted AIDS came out of the blue. Basically saying, "women always get duped by unfaithful men". Couples are supposed to be together. Can we actually say, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" in this case?
This is not a political movie unless you want to blame the country in question's government for not protecting its citizens. If they were doing a good job, there would be no need for the rebels doing the raping and pillaging. You may want to blame wealth hoarders who do not offer any or enough toward the plight. That could include politicians as well as celebrities and Wall St. moguls all over the globe. They do not say or imply it is an exclusive problem for the USA to fix.
The ending is similar to Out Of Africa and Blood Diamond, the latter being a better film than this. It is similar in story to Machine Gun Preacher which is an inferior film by the acting. I rate The Last Face a 7.4 out of 10 as opposed to the 4.7 it is showing as of 06-02-2018.
Other movies I have seen on this topic concerning government corruption, the brutality of border crossings and refugee crisis are: Hotel Rwanda, The Good Lie, and The Last King Of Scotland.
It is mainly a documentary with a bewildering love story woven throughout. If it were a bookend type story of now-then-now, it would be fine for me. I get their point that the doctors and aid staff are humans too and need love in their lives besides their work. That comes from the dialog where they say, "what about in the name of you and me". The back and forth of that story interrupts the flow and obfuscates the point they are trying to make.
Besides the physical love between Wren and Miguel, there is the love of their careers. Wren fell for him and his passion for healing when she arrived in Africa to get a first hand look at the reality her fundraising efforts supported. That was why their relationship failed, they both loved what they did as careers and Wren simply got to the point where she could no longer stomach the repetitious and never ending suffering. She wanted to go back to a safer world where raising money would be valid help for both victims and boots on the ground staff.
The sudden interjection about Miguel's affair with a staffer who contracted AIDS came out of the blue. Basically saying, "women always get duped by unfaithful men". Couples are supposed to be together. Can we actually say, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" in this case?
This is not a political movie unless you want to blame the country in question's government for not protecting its citizens. If they were doing a good job, there would be no need for the rebels doing the raping and pillaging. You may want to blame wealth hoarders who do not offer any or enough toward the plight. That could include politicians as well as celebrities and Wall St. moguls all over the globe. They do not say or imply it is an exclusive problem for the USA to fix.
The ending is similar to Out Of Africa and Blood Diamond, the latter being a better film than this. It is similar in story to Machine Gun Preacher which is an inferior film by the acting. I rate The Last Face a 7.4 out of 10 as opposed to the 4.7 it is showing as of 06-02-2018.
Other movies I have seen on this topic concerning government corruption, the brutality of border crossings and refugee crisis are: Hotel Rwanda, The Good Lie, and The Last King Of Scotland.