More important, however, than the relevance of the film is its quality. "Hart's War" is among the most intelligent and riveting treatments of a military trial since Stanley Roberts's 1954 adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel, "The Caine Mutiny." With its wallop-packed, multilayered plot, "Hart's War" embraces the themes of honor, racial justice, and male bonding without the stilted encumbrances of George Tillman Jr.'s "Men of Honor," a crowd-pleaser that unfortunately bore the conventions of a made-for-TV, flag-waving melodrama. Not only does "Hart's War" convey the ambience of a POW camp (filmed in the Czech town an hour's drive from Prague utilizing Lilly Kilvert's allegedly authentic set design of an actual stalag), but the story also bears sharp dialogue and a restrained by effective array of pyrotechnics (particularly by a P-51 plane which soared low over German-held territory, destroying railroad tracks and German- controlled buildings as well). Best of all is a performance by the handsome, 24-year-old Colin Farrell ("Tigerland") as a guilt- ridden lieutenant appointed by a superior officer to defend a black American soldier accused of murdering a white racist who had regularly taunted him.

Full of ironies and twists, "Hart's War" opens on the capture of Lieutenant Tomm Hart (Colin Farrell) by two German soldiers dressed as American MP's. Placed in an overcrowded POW camp with enlisted men (a break from the truth, in which captured officers were housed in barracks only with fellow officers), Hart falls under the command not only of the German Wilhelm Visser (Marcel Iures) but of fellow American, Col. William McNamara (Bruce Willis). Despite the absolute rule over the camp by Visser--fluent in English and, in fact, educated during the 1920's at Yale University--the Germans allow the American, McNamara, to keep order among his own men. When a black lieutenant (Terrence Howard), housed with white American soldiers including a racist captain whom he is later accused of murdering, McNamara sees an opportunity to divert German attention by creating a court martial with himself as presiding officer. While the German colonel surprisingly agrees to allow the legal proceedings, he is not aware of McNamara's hidden agenda.

Among the unusual verities of this prison camp illustrated by the film is the existence of theatrical skits put on by the prisoners, particularly one who pokes fun at Hitler--productions that even included appreciative enemy soldiers in the audience! "Hart's War," an astute blending of battle sequences, fiery courtroom histrionics (particularly the sharp defense of the prisoner in the dock by Colin Farrells' character), and a reminder of the segregation and attitudes of soldiers during the 1940s that recalls Norman Jewison's movie 1984 movie "A Soldier's Story," is a sincere tale of heroics which for all its rah-rah morality does not fall into the trap of wearing its patriotism baldly on its sleeve.