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Syriana
- Thread starter SFG75
- Start date
SFG75
Well-Known Member
Things were a bit hectic last night, so while I had it on, I wan't able to give it my full attention. From what I could tell so far, it's a fictional account of people with ties to security agencies, oil companies, and foreign governments attempting to gain favor with a new prince. There is a good interview on the movie's website featuring the actors and some experts discussing the influence of oil and energy on geopolitics and of course, America.
novella
Active Member
It's really about two brother princes who each want control of their family's oil-rich kingdom, and their various 'backers.' The elder prince is more progressive and Westernized (and has a more humane big picture of the world), but the younger, a silly, playboy traditionalist, is favored.
Also involved are a ****-up CIA man who's grown a conscience, a business analyst who specilizes in the oil industry, and the US government. There's another substory involving some poor Pakistanis who are brought in to work the oil fields and then left hanging when a corporate merger happens. There's some arms trading on the side that goes wrong.
I saw it about three nights ago. It's a really interesting movie in a lot of ways. I liked it very much. It's structured like many novels, with every 'chapter' or scene going to a different character and part of the world. There are about 5 places of action, then, and they eventually start to come together. I love the structure and the way the story is unfolded.
I also like the moral ambiguity, although, of course, American ignorance and greed are (as usual) the evil that drives men to pointless action. But, overall, I think it does a good job of working through the complexities of the ramifications of 'easy' no-brainer money decisions made by corporate CEOs in the US. No one in the movie is unscathed, and people are only jostled into sympathetic, humane actions by personal tragedy. In that sense, it has a very John LeCarre feel to me, particularly his later work.
Also involved are a ****-up CIA man who's grown a conscience, a business analyst who specilizes in the oil industry, and the US government. There's another substory involving some poor Pakistanis who are brought in to work the oil fields and then left hanging when a corporate merger happens. There's some arms trading on the side that goes wrong.
I saw it about three nights ago. It's a really interesting movie in a lot of ways. I liked it very much. It's structured like many novels, with every 'chapter' or scene going to a different character and part of the world. There are about 5 places of action, then, and they eventually start to come together. I love the structure and the way the story is unfolded.
I also like the moral ambiguity, although, of course, American ignorance and greed are (as usual) the evil that drives men to pointless action. But, overall, I think it does a good job of working through the complexities of the ramifications of 'easy' no-brainer money decisions made by corporate CEOs in the US. No one in the movie is unscathed, and people are only jostled into sympathetic, humane actions by personal tragedy. In that sense, it has a very John LeCarre feel to me, particularly his later work.
lenny nero
New Member
It's damn good. Very similar to Soderbergh's Traffic, where you have a central theme(big oil in the middle east) and several stories wove around it. The guy that wrote Traffic, directed this one.
Gem
kickbox
SFG, thanks I'll take a look at that link.
Novella, you make it sound very good - A John LeCarre feel?
I'm looking forward to it even more now.
Lenny Nero - I haven't even watched Traffic yet
George Clooney has been quite outspoken about his political views hasn't he - he was on a few news shows over here. I can't find the BBC Newsnight one but here's the Channel 4 one : Clooney
Novella, you make it sound very good - A John LeCarre feel?
I'm looking forward to it even more now.
Lenny Nero - I haven't even watched Traffic yet
George Clooney has been quite outspoken about his political views hasn't he - he was on a few news shows over here. I can't find the BBC Newsnight one but here's the Channel 4 one : Clooney
novella
Active Member
lenny nero said:
Traffic by Soderbergh was a remake of Traffik by someone else, which was even better. In fact. all of the good aspects of Soder's version were lifted directly from the original, while all of the watered-down, 'soft' bits of Soderberg's version were his very own.
lenny nero
New Member
Wasn't the original a British tv mini-series?
Ms.
New Member
It was hyped up as some sort of Ulysses on film dense masterpiece and to be perfectly honest this angle did it a disservice. It was easy to understand being as novella said structured like a novel, the only downside from its structure was I didn’t care about George clooneys character so left the cinema feeling unaffected.
beer good
Well-Known Member
Watched this last night, and I really liked it though it didn't quite register as a masterpiece. One thing I liked in particular - as opposed to most political thrillers - is that you don't have this one almost superhuman character (usually played by Harrison Ford) who can or does solve the whole thing; everybody here is just one small player in a large game. Some of them are bishops and some are pawns, but not one of them can decide it all on their own.
Also,
There were a few too-convenient turns of plot, but overall it seems eerily realistic. Complex, well put together, mostly well-acted and just subversive enough. Me like.
Also,
GREAT ending, too. I'm sick of the normal Hollywood endings where someone saves it in the last second. That final strike of the missile, the split-second explosion, then the cut back to the control room... "We zap and maim with the bravery of being out of range", to quote Roger Waters.
There were a few too-convenient turns of plot, but overall it seems eerily realistic. Complex, well put together, mostly well-acted and just subversive enough. Me like.