Long gone are the days when wars were fought for PRIDE ,HONOR ,LAND ,WEALTH & EVEN WOMEN ,these days the war that is fought is more or less focussed on a commodity called "OIL" which virtually runs our entire planet. Obviously such a needed commodity has a price but its not the monetary price alone that needs to be looked at but also the human price thats paid.
People always look at the middle east an an unstable region with the stable countries heavily relying on its western counterparts to take care of their security alas there is one point which never makes sense at all ,why are the richest Arabic countries armies dependent on a foreign entity for its security ,are they not able to form an army or are they forbid from maintaining one ???
PLOT : " A political saga that throws light on the politics behind the shady PETROLEUM POLITICS. "
A WARNING TO ALL THOSE WHO EXPECT POPCORN TYPE ENTERTAINMENT ,THIS FILM IS DEFINITELY NOT SUITED FOR THOSE KIND OF AUDIENCE.
True to the above spoiler ,Syriana is one of those films focussed on the oil crisis in the middle east however this is not another run of the mill story of action & drama ,this film will certainly enlighten those unaware of PETROLEUM POLITICS.
Written & directed by Stephen Gaghan of Traffic fame ,the film operates on multiple ,parallel storylines that has the audience hooked from the very beginning ,you need to have sincere attention to comprehend the happenings on screen.
With an ensemble cast its easy to loose focus but Stephen Gaghan has just proved otherwise ,i like the working pattern of hollywood stars who have no qualms in multiple starrers unlike their Indian counterparts especially in South Indian film industry.
Casting of George Clooney ,Matt Damon ,Jeffrey Wright ,Amr Waked ,Chris Cooper ,Amanda Peet ,William Hurt ,Christopher Plummer ,Tim Blake Nelson ,Alexander Siddig ,Mazhar Munir was one of the best assembled cast.
Each & every cast had a role to play which in itself was not easy considering the depth of each character in the film ,they had definitely done their homework to ensure justice to the screenplay.
I especially loved the roles of George Clooney ,Matt Damon ,Alexander Siddig & Jeffrey Wright ,do watchout for them for its so memorable to see them perform in the various roles ranging from a secret agent ,to a Prince who is willing to take extra effort to make his country a prosperous one.
Music by Alexandre Desplat provides the film with an ample dosage of whats required during the various pressure points in the film ,the authentic feel of middle was also a treat to hear.
For a film on such a complicated backdrop the editing work by Tim Squyres stands out ,the audience are lead on the right track from the very beginning & are able to feel with the characters.
Political dramas based on real incidents offer the audience to look at things in different perspectives & enable them to understand the real happenings in the world today but its a sad fact that most films in this genre especially in our country face opposition from political parties who are entangled in the many scams.
Syriana only provides glimpses on the happenings behind the shady mergers ,assassinations & many terrorist attacks taking place due to OIL ,these all just form a small percentage of whats a much larger conspiracy thats happening so that we don't come to know the true PRICE WE PAY FOR OIL !!!
- Director : Stephen Gaghan
- Writers : Stephen Gaghan(Screenplay) , Robert Baer(Book)
- Cast : George Clooney ,Amr Waked ,Christopher Plummer ,Jeffrey Wright ,Chris Cooper ,Matt Damon ,Amanda Peet ,Alexander Siddig ,Tim Blake Nelson ,William Hurt ,Mazhar Munir
- Rating : "PG" for some scenes of violence & language.
Harrison Ford was the original choice to play role which eventually went to George Clooney,but he turned it down. He later told a magazine that is one of the few movie career decisions that he has regretted."
