The lead-up to the release of sci-fi military film Ender’s Game has been marred by controversy. Adapted from Orson Scott Card’s novel, the tale of child soldiers being manipulated into fighting a war against insectoid aliens was lauded for its emotional maturity, complexity and empathy. Card, however, seems to have not taken his own morals to heart. The increasingly outspoken and political author has expressed extremely bigoted, anti-LGBT views, including advocating a violent overthrow of the American government for its failure to ban gay marriage and outlaw homosexuality.

Threats of audience boycotts are understandable, but also a damn shame. For not only does the film hold true to the novel but Oscar-winning South African director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Wolverine) brings another layer of personal and political complexity to the story of child soldiers, and their moral journey.
“I was drafted at 17 and went through this traumatic experience of being wrenched from my family for two years and being put into this military world,” Hood explains. “People would praise me if I was aggressive. And if I could scream and run down a beach with my bayonet to stab a straw man, the louder I screamed, the happier they were. Deep down you know, ‘Well, Mum wouldn’t approve of this, so what am I being taught to do here?’ Then something happens like your friend being killed and you become extremely angry, not only with authority – which I’ve had trouble with ever since – but yourself. You ask yourself, ‘Am I angry at my parents, my society, my officers – or just myself, for not seeing this for what it is?’ Though I sensed it and thought, ‘At some point you have to take responsibility for your own actions and moral position in the world.’”
Hood admits that he put a lot of himself into the main character of Ender, played with startling maturity by Hugo star Asa Butterfield. He wanted to highlight the deep conflict felt by soldiers pushed into violence – then punished for it, in more ways than one.
“It’s very hard when you’ve been a soldier and gone through whatever amount of post-traumatic stress disorder to reintegrate into society. And if you don’t reintegrate, society will reject you. And it’s harsh, because society sent you and said you were doing good.”
Fans have objected that Ender is played as a 13-year old, rather than the six-year old star of the novels. However the deviation adds to the film’s resonance, as the characters are still young enough to be manipulated, but old enough to recognise the consequences of their violent actions. Hood admits there were practical reasons, too.
“To be perfectly blunt, as much as we tried to find a six or eight-year old who could handle it, there was something very forced about putting them up alongside Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley and making the dynamic believable. It was perfect when we found Asa because he was 13, just before puberty, on the threshold of becoming a man, and defining who he wants to be. And that’s what I wanted the movie to be about. That emotional point is when childhood really ends I think; when you find adults aren’t always right and you figure out what you believe.”
As for the controversy surrounding Orson Scott Card, Hood is thoughtful and sympathetic towards those whose opinion of the film has already been tainted.     
“I fundamentally disagree with Orson, and so completely understand if people don’t want to see the film because of his views. What makes it hard for me and anyone else who loves the book is that its themes are the opposite of what the author is expressing in regards to gay marriage, for example.
“The themes of compassion and empathy for the other - the whole book is about that. So it’s impossible in my mind to reconcile his views with his writing. And I don’t know how he’s evolved these views in the years since writing the book, I know he’s a very religious man in the Mormon Church. However, I don’t want his personal views ruining the book for me or anyone else, which is why I’m more determined to get the film and its themes of empathy and tolerance out there – obviously they’re still very much needed.”

Ender’s Game is in cinemas from October 25