Beyond the Gates, Michael Canton-Jones’ examination of the Rwandan genocide, excels in a dark and intense genre. Amid recent films detailing real-life crises in Africa, including the Oscar nominated Hotel Rwanda, this stands out as an exception, rather than the rule. Last year’s Blood Diamond peppered an action plot with heavy-handed expositions of conflict gems and child soldiers. In 2005, The Constant Gardener did the same thing with pharmaceutical companies, although Ralph Fiennes and prescription drugs are nowhere near as sexy as Leonardo DiCaprio and large pink diamonds. But neither film struck the right balance between being entertaining and informative; both were overly preachy and exploitative of their subjects.

At first, it seemed Beyond the Gates was headed in that direction. The screening was populated by groups from local advocacy organizations and followed by a panel discussion on the film’s relevance to ongoing violence today in the Darfur region of Sudan. A table full of pamphlets and briefing sheets on humanitarian crises lay just outside the theater. But after the film began, it became clear that this was not a typical message movie. More than just being courageous, important and powerful, the film is a subtle, studied and almost subversive examination of the human capacity for sacrifice.

The film follows Joe (Hugh Dancy), a charming young British teacher at the Ecole Technique Officiel in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. The school is run by Father Christopher (John Hurt), a kind but pragmatic Catholic priest who has been in Africa for the past three decades.

The characters are set up in direct and deliberate opposition to one another — the youthful idealist versus the pragmatic man of faith — but both actors infuse their roles with such depth that they could never been seen as simple caricatures. Dancy gives Joe a nonchalant charisma that keeps his self-righteousness from becoming grating, while Hurt brings a weary resignation to Christopher’s unfailing stoicism.

The plot advances quickly, with the events that triggered the 1994 genocide occurring about 10 minutes into the film, and focuses mainly on the debate between Christopher, Joe and the U.N. troops stationed at their school over what to do with the 2,000 Tutsi refugees sheltered within its gates. The Belgian captain Charles (Dominique Horwitz) sides unenthusiastically with his “mandate” to monitor the peace and not to enforce it, a distinction that Father Christopher says seems utterly meaningless. Father Christopher works quietly and diligently to maintain the makeshift refugee camp’s standard of living, knowing that if the troops leave, there will be little he can do for his flock.

The scenes on the school grounds and the streets surrounding it ground the movie with a strong sense of place that goes beyond the typical African backdrop of savannah, elephants and open-top Jeeps. The film was shot on location in Rwanda at all of the actual places depicted in the script, giving the images the authenticity they deserve.

The film’s tagline reads, “How far would you go to make a difference?” and that certainly resonates as the haunting question Beyond the Gates leaves it audience with.

Joe does not go far enough. He confesses to “patting himself on the back” for coming to Rwanda, and his charity is rooted is more self-gratifying than truly altruistic. Father Christopher represents those who devote their lives to helping others and, when called upon, can make a selfless sacrifice quietly.

The message resonates especially on a globally-minded campus like Georgetown. Many of us will end up like Joe, shipped to foreign lands and gleeful that we are really “making a difference.” Beyond the Gates challenges us to question how much of a difference such adolescent idealism can really make and offers a sobering and unexpected answer.