Synopsis: This serious-minded, large-scale historical saga casts light on a shadowy corner of American history, the "St. Patrick's Brigade" in the Mexican-American war of the 1840s. Near the front lines, John Riley (Berenger), a respected Irish-American officer, rebels when several US Army... This serious-minded, large-scale historical saga casts light on a shadowy corner of American history, the "St. Patrick's Brigade" in the Mexican-American war of the 1840s. Near the front lines, John Riley (Berenger), a respected Irish-American officer, rebels when several US Army soldiers, fellow immigrants, are brutalized because of their Catholic faith. He goes AWOL with the men, eventually siding with the Mexicans in their fight to hold onto territories that would become the American southwest. It's a tragic tale, recalling the era when Catholics (and Irish ones in particular) were widely mistrusted and despised by the country's Protestant majority. Still, it's no wonder that the whitewashed, remember-the-Alamo version of American history has persevered in previous dramas; between the factionalized Mexican side, the conflicted Riley and even the war-weary US "invaders," it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys here, who is fighting who and why, and Riley's romance with a Hispanic hottie muddies the picture even more. Still, ONE MAN'S HERO is worth comparing with another factual epic about a renegade warrior who casts his lot with another culture - LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. [More]