AGW Entertainment reporter Lynn B. saw a new romantic adventure film. Here are her thoughts on....

THE FOUR FEATHERS

Paramount Pictures

Heath Ledger kept a straight face while telling us he loves camels because they're spunky but he used to ride kangaroos to school in his native Australia… he's kidding, folks! The desert heat he endured while making The Four Feathers was nothing to this Aussie boy who is used to occasional temps of 145 degrees in his homeland.

The desert hasn't looked so threatening yet beautiful since Lawrence of Arabia. "Feathers", set in 1898, follows young British officer Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) who, conflicted by his feelings about soldiering and imperialism, resigns his post when he learns his regiment will ship out to the Sudan for a war with Muslim leader "The Mahdi". Harry's best friends Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley) and two others, along with his disillusioned fiancée Ethne (Kate Hudson) send him four white feathers to symbolize his cowardice. To redeem his honor, when Harry learns that his friends are in trouble, he disguises himself as an Arab and secretly saves the lives of those who branded him a coward.

This classic tale is an old-school epic that, wisely, doesn't comment on current anti-Arab sympathies but focuses on timeless issues; the horrors of war, the arrogance of would-be conquerors and the heroism of loyalty and friendship. This movie is really about standing up for your friends despite the odds and what they may think about you. The "look" of the film is rich and eye-popping. From the excesses of London Society to the stark, sand-blasted forts and poor desert settlements, the film is lush eye candy. There are great, wizened faces even among the extras. The musical score by Titanic's James Horner is appropriate and moving.

Performances by Heath Ledger and Djimon Hounsou as lead character Feversham and his protector Abou Fatma are rugged, terribly physical and emotionally satisfying. Ledger displays some awesome horsemanship as well. Wes Bentley as the love-sick war hero Durrance is moving and Kate Hudson, in her few scenes, glows as Ethne, the gal back home that both Durrance and Harry want for their own.

With a PG-13 rating, we still see the horrors of hand-to-hand battle when a supposedly supreme force is outwitted by a rag tag army operating supremely on their own desert turf. The film has action, male bonding and cute Kate for the guys and a nice, touching love triangle and hotties Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley and Djimon Hounsou for gals who aren't into all that macho stuff. Is it a perfect film? No but, as a nod to epics like Lawrence and Doctor Zhivago, it might be the best we can do in modern times. It's a great date flick.

Official website: www.fourfeathersmovie.com

RATED: PG-13 (Warning: images of war and suffering can be disturbing)