Sorry not much of a summary, but if you're reading this you'd know the summary anyway. I saw this in a plane coming back home and miraculously saw the end as the plane touched the tarmac! The story also touched my inner self tarmac and I went through a lot of emotions - Trying to associate myself with such a situation was simply futile, just like the dedicated American workers who could just not imagines what these refugees had been through. Imagine isn't even close as similar situations can't be imagined in their reality. Yes we can write about them, have our own feelings and reactions about them. But we can't have the same trauma about them. Like many other situations it needs to be lived, and perhaps it's a good thing as one would not want to have to live all the distressing situations that may affect us. The movie delves into it when it shows characters re-living their ordeal in their thoughts and also the blank or incredulous faces of those who hear about it from the would be 'horses mouth'. I remember a long time ago watching at the cinema Private Ryan. Comfortably seated very close to the screen looking at the beach where I was bombarded with close up of many soldiers 'erased' for ever by machine guns and other weapons.... I guess some are affected by such scenes in a positive and active way but I'm pretty sure the majority of us live the cinema to go on about our own life. "hey it was a good movie, wasn't it". Yes for me I liked this story very much and did not need to know it was inspired by real events...Reality is all around us every day, like my recent trip to Tokyo looking at tarpaulin covering stuff under some bridge, then being told that people were trying to live underneath! I read one of the early comments that recommends to take the youngsters with you to see this movies...Youngsters play games where one shoots 'peoples' with super machine guns, or dismember them with powerful chainsaws and other form of weapons for entertainment! What difference would it make to them. But what difference did it make to me? "life is a lottery" is my deduction.

Just a heap of common places, clichés and overall unrealistic depiction of southern Sudanese people, Africans in general. I confidently watched the movie seeing all these good reviews but could not really even watch it all. I am unsure if anyone who has liked this has ever lived in Africa. and I can't believe people would believe African are so naive and aloof.

The film is in 3 parts. The first part follows the Sudanese children who have lost everything and are seeking safety.The second part is a gentle but well-observed satire, marking the absolutely typical inhumanity and su-bnormality of many Americans who have never even left the state they were born in, their utter lack of any understanding of another culture, much less how strange everything is for these refugees from a very different world. Culture shock is completely ignored.A tiny example is the jello presented to the 3 brothers on their arrival at their final destination in weird and alien Kansas. (Yes, that is how it seems to the rest of the world! The world outside Northern America, which barely exists so far as most Americans are concerned!) The well-meaning volunteer intends it as a welcome token but the brothers don't even recognise it as food! (And of course part of the satire is that it isn't.)The last third is partly a redemption of some Americans who find ways around the legal craziness that has swamped the US, which denies it has any involvement itself in terrorism, except as victim. It is also partly about love and sacrifice.A bittersweet and at the same time a heartwarming gem of a film.

I just saw this movie yesterday. All I can say is WOW! How this movie did not win all kinds of awards, I don't understand. Hollywood is so desensitized, it just doesn't know a good thing when it sees it.An incredibly touching movie based on the real life stories of many Sudanese children who fled their war-torn country in the early 80s. Sudan has had several civil wars over most of the last 60 years, with millions of victims accumulated. Anyway, this story is so inspiring, beautiful, uplifting and heart-felt, that there's no way you can be human and not cry at least a few times during the movie.Hollywood overlooks the good ones time and time again. This was without question, Oscar-worthy. No nominations, go figure. This is definitely one you don't want to miss.The main actors are all Sudanese themselves and give an awesome performance - so genuine, natural and heartfelt. You don't even feel like your watching a movie. Reese Witherspoon is in it, but really she's just ancillary.Go see it!!!