When you think of an American war film, images of John Wayne carrying men across enemy lines to a triumphant victory come to mind. Hollywood has more often than not given us a patriotic, sugarcoated version of what past wars were like. In a sense, Hart's War may be the rare exception to the rule because it shows a more complex, realistic version of both Americans and Germans in World War II prisoner-of-war camps.

      John Wayne wasn't available, so Colin Farrell stands in, carrying the film in his first lead performance while the larger star, Bruce Willis, hides in the shadows for most of the movie. Based on a story from novelist John Katzenbach, they are capably directed by Gregory Hoblit. Hoblit takes another diverse film (he previously directed Fallen and Frequency), and pleasantly unwinds the personal struggles that prisoners of war faced in WWII.

      Farrell (American Outlaws) is Lieutenant Tommy Hart, a second-year Yale Law student who was enlisted in the war efforts but kept far from the front by his father's senatorial influence. But while on a routine courier run, Hart is ambushed and taken as a prisoner of war by the Nazis to the fictional Stalag VI-A somewhere in Belgium.

      At the camp, Hart gets a sour welcome by high-ranking American prisoner Col. William McNamara (Bruce Willis) and the rest of his countrymen, who believe him to be a coward and a traitor. For a while, the only comfort he finds is with the enemy and fellow Yalie SS Major Wilhelm Visser (Marcel Iures, Mission: Impossible), the camp commandant.

      But when two Tuskegee airmen named Lt. Lincoln Scott (Terrence Dashon Howard, Angel Eyes) and Lt. Lamar Archer (Vicellous Deon Shannon, The Hurricane) arrive at the camp, racial tension divides the Americans in their resistance. After a murder is committed, Lt. Scott is unjustly accused, and though Visser wants him immediately executed, Col. McNamara cite's Scott's right to a court martial. An amused Visser consents, and McNamara assigns Hart to defend Scott. But as Hart begins his seemingly impossible case, he also uncovers more than the truth in McNamara's alternative motives.

      Farrell, Howard, and Iures drove this war film. Farrell anchored the film, and it never really became anyone else's war but his. It is an impressive performance for being his first starring role, and I'd say he has the talent to do this more often. Howard, as the condemned man Scott, had one of the best speeches in a film that actually stayed away from big speeches. And though Iures has the typical evil Nazi look to him, he plays the part rather calmly. Usually, if you've seen one actor do a Nazi commandant, you've seen them all, but not in this case. As Visser drowns his sorrows to the strains of Duke Ellington in his office, you can't help but feel for him a little bit.

      The only weak character was Col. McNamara. Bruce Willis has chosen some unique projects the past few years and is definitely expanding his horizons, but in a warm-blooded American role like this one, he's hopeless. Bruce, well, gets all Bruce on us, exercising the stern look and deep, raspy voice in each shot. It's almost like Armageddon all over again, except without the testosterone overdose. Fortunately, he provided the unexpected question mark as to where the line between the good guys and bad guys is. The audience is constantly guessing, and it's hard to decide whom to root for. And while this might be a bad aspect in most films, in Hart's War it works.

      This all comes into play in the adapted screenplay by Billy Ray (Volcano), Terry George (The Boxer), and Jeb Stuart (Just Cause). John Katzenbach, who also wrote the novel on which Just Cause was based, has another unique tale here -- this time based on his father's own POW experiences in World War II. Racial conflict might seem overused, but aside from the Civil War, it hasn't really been the subject of any war film. It's a provocative angle -- German POWs were given more privileges in the American South than an African-Americans.

      The script was also unique in its use of role reversal -- the question of who is good and who is bad creates a lot of the twists in the film and makes the film enjoyable to watch. But above all, the story's strong messages and themes do not go unnoticed. Honor, courage, and loyalty may be just words thrown around every war film, but Hart's War does actually show them in action.

      Director Hoblit had a lot of help from his crew in conveying those messages. Alar Kivilo, who collaborated with Hoblit on Frequency, is present as cinematographer, giving the cold feel to the picture that is perfect for the winter of 1944-45. Rachael Portman provided a beautiful score to the film that moved the picture along not only in words but also by the swells of violin and piano music.

      Overall, Hart's War has the humanistic quality of the soldiers involved in World War II not found in most war films. Though some holes in characters and plot are apparent, they're not enough to make it a bear to sit through. America has seen and will continue to see films in which the United States has dominated the competition on the battlefield, but the more important matter, as seen in Hart's War, is how the soldiers dominated the competition in the mind and in the heart.

Michael J. Eiff, 2002