The trailers for Hart’s War make it look like either a hunk of sentimental junk or a retread of Stalag 17. It's actually a quite serious and absorbing drama -- a movie with the old-fashioned notion of telling a story and taking the necessary time to do so. Colin Farrell stars as an American lieutenant in a German POW camp, assigned as counsel for a black soldier (Terrence Howard) who has been accused of killing a white man (Cole Hauser).

The guards' preferred method of punishment is shooting people on the spot, but the leader of the Americans, a captain played by Bruce Willis, declares plainly that his men can take care of their own business in an orderly and unobtrusive manner. The camp commandant is, of course, a thoughtful and poetic chap with a soft spot for American culture, and he allows the prisoners to hold their trial. "It should be entertaining," he tells Willis.

The trial scenes are involving in themselves -- there are thoughtful discussions about the race issue, and Farrell challenges his comrades to think about the usefulness of their own relationships within the camp. Hart’s War has been directed by Gregory Hoblit, who made the underrated Primal Fear (1996) on top of a whole lot of episodes of L.A. Law, and he knows how to film courtroom mechanics in a tauter, more sophisticated manner than many directors. What's really interesting, however, is how intonations, background whisperings and Willis's crafty manner give us a feeling that the trial has hidden implications. It's possible that games are being played in the background, and presumably they've got something to do with escape. It keeps us watching.

I suppose Hart’s War could have been grim, silly or predictable, but it's reasonably smart and very well made. Hoblit paces his story well, and his cinematographer, Alar Kivilo, frames shots clearly but leaves them dark, leaving us with enough bearing to follow things but not enough to settle down or get too used to the harshness of the locale.

The characters are flawed in real ways -- Farrell seems to have moral sense and strong will, but he's not strong enough to hold up under interrogation, and in war, that matters. The Willis character shows clear leadership and acts with fierce intelligence, but before the exact motives behind his actions become clear, he comes off as cold and arrogant, as if he's forgetting the worth of his men's lives because he's missing the frontline action he was raised and trained to tackle. Before the end of the picture, three of the main characters will have performed bold acts of noble courage, but they are men taking complex and pragmatic steps to sacrifice themselves for the good of others, rather than grandstanding through speeches and obvious heroics.

(Released by MGM and rated "R" for some strong war violence and language.)