With the story set partly in Ethiopia, Cambodia and Chechnya, "Beyond Borders" has the ingredients for a film that exposes the horrible conditions that so many endure in war-torn and starving environments. Indeed, some of this does come through in heartrending scenes of people wasting away for lack of food or caught in the midst of lethal fighting, and of scenes stressing the courage of dedicated people who risk their lives in their mission to help others. Jolie herself, it should be noted, has served as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and traveled internationally to far-flung hot spots.

But the film, directed by Martin Campbell, suffers from the corny way the story is told. Charismatic actor Clive Owen plays Nick Callahan, a dedicated do-gooder doctor, but his hostile attitude of cynicism is carried so far as to make it seem merely shrill and unreasonable. The love life that develops between him and Sarah gets to be more like soap opera than convincing drama. She is moved by a hostile speech Nick makes in London to challenge fund cuts and display a disadvantaged immigrant boy as an example of those who suffer. It is difficult to believe how suddenly Sarah's life is transformed.

She gets an education traveling to the afflicted areas in the face of Nick's initial ridicule. But eventually, in love with Nick, when he is missing and feared dead or captured, she leaves her husband and children to go off to find him, and presto, she is in Chechnya, where she braves the terror and locates him, still alive, but in a sorry imprisoned state. They try to escape, but instead of intense feeling, the film verges on inducing laughter as Sarah informs Nick in the nick of time of the child that is his as a result of their passion.