jlsmi11-609-196563 An under-appreciated and under-read non-fiction account of NGO aid workers throwing themselves into - and becoming addicted to - the most desperate world humanitarian crises, the novel Emergency Sex (and other Desperate Measures) has moved me since first discovering it at a bookshop in Kenyatta Airport, Nairobi. This movie nails the emotion, the frustration, the passion, the resignation and the endurance of some of our worlds' most unheralded heroes. A strong recommend.

SnoopyStyle Mambrú (Benicio Del Toro) is the world-weary leader of a group from 'Aid Across Borders' trying to help sanitation in the war-torn Balkans. He reconnects with his conflict-evaluater ex Katya (Olga Kurylenko). He deals with UN bureaucracy, problematic locals, and a body stuck in a well. The irreverent B (Tim Robbins) and translator Damir (Fedja Stukan) go off in search of rope to pull out the body. The idealistic newcomer Sophie (Mélanie Thierry) is exasperated. There's the boy looking a ball. It's a day in the life.I like that this takes this serious world and use a small part to run the plot through. It's like a little hamster running around in a wheel. There is a bit of humor and plenty of poignant sadness. It's a little slow at times but it never lets go. It's great that it gets tied together in the end.

johndrucker-27737 A story about a group of aid workers trying to solve a problem and all they need is a rope. How hard could it possibly be to find a rope ? Add in the fact that they are in the middle of a war torn country. Strewn about are the remnants of war and a fragile peace that hangs by a thread. The dangers and hardships are real as this mixed group of people navigates the foreign countryside, language and its people.Beautifully crafted the story takes us along their journey. Encounter after encounter, problem after problem they press on with their singular mission. In the end the problem is solved in the simplest of ways. A story about humanity and more importantly what many of us take for granted in our daily lives. Bravo to the producers, cast and crew of this wonderful movie.

socrates99 This was a guilty pleasure to watch. I could put myself in Benicio Del Toro's situation, in a war zone as peace starts to erupt, accompanied by Olga Kurylenko and Melanie Thierry, both unusually attractive women. The temptation is to make the movie about that close encounter, but, though there is some flirtation, the movie is far more serious than that. And besides there are other men in the party.This is about the war in the Balkans in 1995 and what it was like on the ground for humanitarian workers. It pretty much captures the reality better than any documentary could ever hope to. What a difficult circumstance in which to try to work where something as simple as obtaining a rope or navigating around a dead cow seems almost impossible. All the supporting players do the material justice though I particularly liked Melanie Thierry's and Tim Robbin's performances. Del Toro is at the center of the action and he makes it a pleasant experience.Given what's shown of the people, it seems it would be a futile task to try to intervene. Even the humanitarian effort depicted had only limited success in its simple objective, imagine trying to intervene at the peak of the war!