After surviving a catastrophic battle on the Solomon Islands, Sgt. Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) cheats on his hearing exam to get back into the fight. What he doesn't know is that he's going to get assigned to a new duty, protecting a codetalker from the Japanese Imperial Army.

On the surface, that means Ender is protecting a Navajo Indian soldier, who speaks the one cipher the Japanese have not broken -- his Native language. Enders is partnered with Private Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach), who is so new he hardly knows how to handle the food rations.

He doesn't plan to get involved with his new charge, but he ends up doing so anyway. As Yahzee tells him: He's fighting for his people, his land, and his country, too.

Enders also works closely with Sgt. Pete "Ox" Anderson (Christian Slater), who has the similar charge of protecting Private Charlie Whitehorse (Roger Willie), another codetalker . Enders advises Ox not to get "too friendly" ... because, if the codetalkers are in danger of being captured, their handlers have standing orders to kill them to prevent the code from falling into enemy hands.

This is a tough film to watch. It's very real, according to the veterans I have encountered, and it's a testament to the bravery of these young Native soldiers who helped us win the war. Very well-acted and very well worth the time. I give it a very high rating, although I wish it were more focused on the Native soldiers, rather than their white handlers.