A positive view of priesthood in 'Beyond the Gates'

"Beyond the Gates" (IFC) towers above most current films, with even the more worthy ones seeming like fluff in comparison. It's a gripping film about one of recent history's most regrettable episodes: the international community's failure to come to the aid of the thousands of men, women and children who lost their lives during the Rwandan genocide.

This dramatization focuses specifically on the 1994 siege of a secondary school there. Father Christopher (John Hurt), a dedicated Catholic priest who runs the Ecole Technique Officielle and Joe Connor (Hugh Dancy), an idealistic young British teacher who hopes to "make a difference" --- both fictional characters --- view with growing alarm the escalating violence just outside their gates by the Hutu majority against their Tutsi brethren whom they regard as mere "cockroaches."

Father Christopher is inspired by an actual Bosnian priest named Father Vjeko Curic who sheltered Tutsis during the genocide.

The school grounds --- guarded by Belgian security forces on the behest of the United Nations (but only to maintain the peace, not enforce it) --- become a sanctuary against the violence just outside its gates. Among the students is a sensitive young Tutsi girl, Marie (Clare-Hope Ashitey), to whom the priest and Joe form a paternal attachment.

When the violence reaches a critical stage, Father Christopher finds hundreds more Tutsis begging for shelter. The U.N. security forces are inclined to refuse entry, but Father Christopher insists they be let in.

Some 2,500 Tutsi citizens ultimately found refuge there, but it would only be temporary. Even with machete-wielding Hutus hovering with deadly intent, the U.N. --- which refused to label the Rwandan atrocities "genocide" as it would oblige them to intervene (a stance echoed by the United States and the United Kingdom) --- would recall its troops, leading to a hasty evacuation, but shamefully, of only the white people. The decisions made by Father Christopher and young Joe at this point are pivotal to the film's theme of personal choice.

The Catholic element here is strong. Father Christopher believes in saying Mass no matter what the outside danger, and throughout, is shown carefully explaining the significance of Catholic doctrine and rituals. Despite a short-lived despair, stemming from his helplessness at the violence he's powerless to alleviate, his character is one of the most positive cinematic depictions of a priest in recent memory.

Hurt --- in real life, a clergyman's son and monk's brother --- gives a wonderfully committed and believable performance, and Dancy --- currently winning raves on Broadway for his terrific performance in the classic World War I drama "Journey's End" --- convincingly conveys the growing horror and disillusionment of his character.

Director Michael Caton-Jones has shot the film (from a compelling script by David Wolstencroft) at the actual locations of the horrific events with survivors among the cast and crew, some of whom are poignantly showcased in the closing credit sequence.

This important film --- with its cautionary reminder of worldwide indifference that must not be allowed to happen again --- is acceptable for mature teens, despite the primarily adult classification.

The film contains much disturbing if discreetly handled violence, description of atrocities, images of dead and wounded, some rough language and mild profanity uttered under duress, and a childbirth scene. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III --- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R --- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Dead Silence (Universal)
Mechanical, relatively mayhem-free horror movie about a man (Jamie Ashen) who returns to his hometown seeking answers to his wife's murder. Director James Wan teases a bit of mystery out of an ordinary plot concerning the revenge of a female ventriloquist and her collection of dolls, but the film proves long on buildup and short on genuine frights. Some crass language, violence, bloody images and dead bodies. (A-III, R)

I Think I Love My Wife (Fox)
Director and co-writer Chris Rock plays a suburban husband tempted to stray in a comedy based on the 1972 French classic "Chloe in the Afternoon." This dubious remake offers little entertainment value and a torrent of four-letter words drowning out a few good jokes, and fails to offer any original insights into marital fidelity, boding ill for Rock's career behind the camera. Pervasive rough and sexually explicit language and an instance of profanity, sexual situations and humor, one image of pornography containing rear female nudity, and brief violence. (L, R)

Premonition (MGM/Hyde Park/TriStar)
Effective time-warp thriller about a wife (Sandra Bullock) who learns her husband (Julian McMahon) has died in a car accident, only to wake up and discover he's still alive and the dreadful event will happen a few days later. Serious suspension of disbelief is required on the viewer's part, but director Mennan Yapo directs with skill, Bullock is riveting as she gradually pieces together the mystifying events around her, and there's even that rare occurrence --- a fairly positive priest character --- all in all making this unobjectionable for older teens and up, despite the flagged elements below. A few instances of profanity and expletives, a horrific car collision and a couple of minor accidents involving blood, mild innuendo, and a suggestion of adultery. (A-III, PG-13)

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (IFC)
Powerful war drama about two brothers (Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney) fighting against British forces in 1920s Ireland. Director Ken Loach, demonstrably on the side of the Irish, vividly illustrates the pitfalls of violence without casting the conflict in sectarian religious terms while espousing a socialist political philosophy that doesn't obscure the narrative's historical or moral complexity. Pervasive rough and crude language including one anti-Catholic slur, extensive wartime violence, including multiple shootings and executions, a torture scene, and an unmarried man and woman kissing briefly prior to an implied encounter. (A-III, no MPAA rating)

Harry Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies. The Office for Film & Broadcasting classifications of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops rates movies on the basis of moral suitability. The classifications are: A-I --- general patronage; A-II --- adults and adolescents; A-III --- adults; L --- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling; O --- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America ratings are: G --- general audiences. All ages admitted; PG --- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children; PG-13 --- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13; R --- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian; NC-17 --- no one 17 and under admitted.