Entertainment

THE PLIGHT STUFF

THE documentary “Dar fur Now” proves that – no matter how im portant the subject matter – following various people around with a camera doesn’t necessarily make a film.

Director Ted Braun begins with a brief summary of the horror in Darfur, Sudan, then tracks the efforts of six people to stop it.

They range from a sheikh in a refugee camp to a mother of a murdered son who joins a guerrilla group; from a prosecutor determined to bring war-crimes indictments to the Hague to a 24-year-old waiter who becomes an activist as he promotes a divestment bill in California to actor Don Cheadle.

All of these people share a concern for the plight of the massacred and the displaced, but not much happens until the very end – when Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a bill authorizing the divestment.

George Clooney pops up for a few minutes to help Cheadle try to pressure China and Egypt – without success. The Hague prosecutor charges two Sudanese with war crimes, but the charge is only on paper, since he lacks the authority to arrest them. Meanwhile, we witness aid missions in Darfur and watch the rebels train with assault rifles. At one point they open fire, but it’s not clear whether they’re in a battle or merely practicing.

Everyone involved keeps saying that aiding Darfur is complicated. No doubt, but their frustration isn’t very compelling to watch.

Running time: 99 minutes. Rated PG (descriptions of violence). At the Angelika, Houston and Mercer Streets.