But if differences linger, and the careful schedule that provides for elections in 2009 and a referendum on southern independence in 2011 begins to slip much further, Sudan could find itself sliding back into a swamp deeper even than Darfur's.

ECONOMIST: Peace in the south, war in the west and poverty amid riches

Nevertheless, it's disappointing that a movie so intent on immersing us in the moment should sink into such a swamp of back story and then -- in the sorry pop-psych tradition of "Ordinary People" -- lay the blame squarely on Mom.

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