Tears of the Sun

Synopsis: Navy SEAL Lieutenant A.K. Waters and his elite squadron of tactical specialists are forced to choose between their duty and their humanity, between following orders by ignoring the conflict that surrounds them, or finding the courage to follow their conscience and protect a group of innocent refugees. When the democratic government of Nigeria collapses and the country is taken over by a ruthless military dictator, Waters, a fiercely loyal and hardened veteran is dispatched on a routine mission to retrieve a Doctors Without Borders physician, Dr. Lena Kendricks. Dr. Kendricks, an American citizen by marriage, is tending to the victims of the ongoing civil war at a Catholic mission in a remote village. When Waters arrives, however, Dr. Kendricks refuses to leave unless he promises to help deliver the villagers to political asylum at the nearby border. If they are left behind, they will be at the mercy of the enormous rebel army. Waters is under strict orders from his commanding officer C
Director(s): Antoine Fuqua
Production: Columbia Pictures
  2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.6
Metacritic:
48
Rotten Tomatoes:
33%
R
Year:
2003
121 min
$43,426,961
Website
915 Views


Tension that had been brewing for

months in Nigeria exploded yesterday...

...as exiled Gen. Mustafa Yakubu

orchestrated a swift and violent coup...

...against the democratically elected

government of President Samuel Azuka.

In the land with 1 20 million people

and over 250 ethnic groups...

... there'd been a long history

of ethnic enmity...

...particularly between northern Fulani

Moslems and southern Christian Ibo.

The victorious Fulani rebels

have tak en to the streets...

...as outbursts of violence

continue all over the country.

Thousands have been killed in

the fighting or executed thereafter.

Fearing ethnic cleansing, most Ibo

have abandoned their homes...

...and are fleeing the city or searching

for sanctuary wherever they may find it.

Gen. Yakubu has tak en control

of most of the country...

...and appears firmly in charge.

There's no word on the United Nations'

reaction to the coup...

...but United States forces have already

begun to evacuate its embassy.

As you can see behind me,

on the USS Harry S. Truman...

...activity is high as foreign nationals

are evacuated from all over Nigeria.

This once peaceful country...

...has been rocked by a series of ethnic

unrests and brief but bitter battles...

...mainly over control

of Nigeria's vast oil supply.

However, nothing can prepare

the country...

...for the overwhelming and decisive

action that has just taken place.

We have just heard

that the entire presidential family...

...has been assassinated.

l repeat:

The entire presidential family

has been assassinated.

-Welcome aboard, Mr. Ambassador.

-Thank you.

Let me take those for you.

He got one in the leg!

Put him in the sickbay now!

Well, look at you.

-Welcome back.

-Thank you.

We appreciate you've been humping out

there, but we have to put you back in.

Priority tasking. We need to extract

a critical personality ASAP.

Now get some chow,

refit for a three-day LLRP.

See you in chow to debrief.

You...

-...go see the medic.

-Aye, captain.

Attention on deck.

As you were, gentlemen. Sit down.

Everybody get chow?

-Yes, sir.

-Okay.

Now, intel estimates

...scattered throughout this sector.

They've captured

government armories...

...and unfortunately, we have been

supplying them for far too many years.

ln addition, the local militia are killing

anyone who goes to a different church.

All right, now, your prime objective

is to find and extract...

...Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks with

lnternational Relief Services.

Dr. Kendricks is an American

by marriage.

Her late husband

was Dr. John Kendricks.

Your secondary objective...

...is to extract two nuns and a priest

who run a feel-good near Yolingo...

...if they so choose to leave.

St. Michael's Mission, right here.

You will halo over Cameroon...

...and float into your DZ near the edge

of the Mazon Rain Forest.

When you get your package...

...you will proceed

to your extract LZ Alpha.

Our presence on the ground

will be considered hostile.

-Questions?

-Sir...

...rules of engagement?

You will defend yourselves if you're

fired upon. Otherwise, do not engage.

Sir, what's our escape-and-evasion

plan?

Patrol the Cameroon border

through the Tandjile Pass.

Anything else, gentlemen?

All right.

Dismissed.

Gentlemen, three minutes out.

lt's okay. lt's okay.

You speak English?

You speak English?

Good. Good.

l'm not gonna hurt you.

Are there any soldiers here?

Any rebel soldiers?

You sure? You sure?

Good. Good. Can you take me

to Dr. Lena Kendricks?

Do you know who she is?

Okay, here we go.

Nice and easy. Come on.

Zee, we're moving.

lt's all right. l'm not gonna

hurt you, okay?

Open.

Clear.

Lasana, where's that wa--?

These American men are here

to see you!

l'm Lt. Waters with the U.S. Navy.

l'm here to get you and your people out.

We're in the middle of surgery here.

Ma'am, you don't realize

what's about to happen here.

Are you a nun?

Are you one of the nuns?

-Are you a nun, ma'am?

-Yes, sir.

Good. Pack your things

and let's get out of here now.

-Lieutenant!

-Ma'am.

Get those weapons out

of my operating room.

You're frightening my staff.

l'll be with you when l'm done.

Now please wait outside!

Your staff should be frightened,

ma'am.

Do you know what'll happen to you

and these women when rebels get here?

Doc, maybe you can help her out.

Ma'am, may l assist?

-Are you a doctor?

-No, l'm a corpsman, ma'am.

-Can you stitch?

-Yes, ma'am.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah, he's sure.

Then close for me.

We're taking our good old time here.

All right, Lt. Waters, l'm all yours.

Hurry up, Doc.

l assume you have a plan

to get us all out of here?

Yes, ma'am. Come with me, please.

We've got a 1 2-klick hike to make

to rendezvous to the helicopter.

Get your things together,

but pack light.

Zee, bring your perimeter up.

Keep Flea in place.

We spotted a rebel company

outside of Yolingo on the way in.

We must assume they'll be here

by night, if not sooner.

l'm responsible for 7 0 people here, more

than half of them seriously wounded.

My orders are to evacuate

foreign nationals only, ma'am.

What does that mean?

l mean nonindigenous personnel,

ma'am.

Then we have a problem.

l will not leave without

the indigenous personnel.

We're here to get you out.

Now, l suggest you go find the priest...

...go find the nuns, pack your things

and prepare to move.

When the rebel troops get here,

they'll kill everything they see...

...including privileged white doctors.

-What part of that plan don't you get?

-The Cameroon border's 40 miles away!

-You could fly them out in 30 minutes!

-Can't do that.

-Why not?

-Because my orders are very clear:

Evacuate the priest, you and the two

nuns. Now pack and get ready to move.

We can take those who can walk.

They're not my responsibility.

You are my responsibility.

You're right, lieutenant...

...it's not your problem.

lt is my responsibility...

...and l will not leave

without my people.

All right, give me a minute.

-A minute?

-That's right.

Sixty seconds. l suggest you use

that time to go find the priest.

Get Command on the horn.

Eagle One to Command.

-Lena, what's going on?

-l don't know yet.

Eagle One to Command.

Eagle One.

Yeah, captain, we got a problem.

No, we got her.

But she wants to bring the 7 0 people

here along with her.

Yes, sir, l understand.

l will handle it.

Eagle One, out.

Dr. Kendricks.

You win. Get your people together.

We leave in a half an hour.

There will be helicopters for them too?

Yes. We can only take those who can

move under their own power.

l understand.

Thank you, lieutenant.

Hurry, please.

Why don't we just get Doc

to tranq her the f*** out?

That's a great idea, Red. Drugging

and kidnapping an American doctor.

l ain't sure this b*tch is American.

The doctor is the mission, Red.

Stick with her.

-And we're taking all these people out?

-Go on.

We need everyone able

to travel ready to go.

We must leave quickly.

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Alex Lasker

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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