In an era when sheer patriotism alone cannot be automatically counted upon to rally legions of loyal citizens to the Bijou

for an evening of heart-thumping pride and rousing good will, variations on the theme are necessary. Oh, don‘t get the wrong

idea. Folks still like rooting for something or another. We‘re hardwired to cheer our group and adulate the champ among us.

It‘s just that today‘s citizen of the world likes his or her love of country obliquely applied and gift-wrapped in designer

label sentiment. Men of Honour fits the bill.
"To thine own self be true" is the popular message that reverberates throughout this stirring true tale of Carl Brashear, the

first African-American to become a master diver in the . Navy. And in evincing his personal saga of heroism, director

George Tillman, Jr. successfully realises an old-fashioned film for contemporary tastes.

But while the flag is enthusiastically waved throughout the swell proceedings of this entertaining throwback, it is tacitly

underscored that loyalty to land can only be admired if it is the servant of personal liberty. Portrayed with exemplary skill

and sensitivity by Cuba Gooding, Jr., Navy man Brashear‘s travail is, above all, a test of civil rights, self-actualisation

and human courage.

There is plenty to chew on here. And Robert De Niro as Master Chief Billy Sunday, diving instructor extraordinaire and

intermittent reprobate personified, makes the mastication twice as much fun. Among the many angles of thespic possibilities

that Mr. De Niro applies in shaping his enigmatic character, he is to his deep sea diving students what Lou Gossett, Jr. was

to his would-be fly boys in An Officer and a Gentleman. You know the drill: "Look to your right, look to your left. Two-

thirds of you guys aren‘t going to graduate from this course." And of course Mr. Sunday is none too thrilled with the

prospect of training this potential barrier crasher. Still, it is a testament to De