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Film review: Syriana (2005)
Too often I sit in front of a flickering screen and wonder why the hell I’m doing this to myself. Why am I allowing crass manipulation and dumbed-down narratives to saturate my brain? The Hollywood machine makes me forget all too easily that it’s possible to watch a movie without feeling talked-down to. One such is Syriana.
The movie’s confusing plotline has gotten a lot of press, but in this case the confusion does not come from poor writing or directing but a deliberate effort to match the situation being portrayed. This is a case of form following content in a seamless, successful, disturbing film experience. Film is by nature manipulative, but how refreshing to have that manipulation underscored by hand drumming instead of orchestral swells, choppy cuts to dimly lit ambiguous figures instead of teary-eyed close ups of unnaturally attractive people.
The film opens with a silent montage, accompanied by low-key music, of workers in a Middle Eastern location. Their obvious degradation sets the tone for one of the threads running through this tapestry of a film. Soon we are introduced to so many facets of influence in the area that we cannot keep track of the motives involved, which include: oil, government, economics, capitalism, Islam, militancy, class, poverty, ego, terrorism, the CIA, political spin, family, wealth and privilege, and allegiance, among others. The film, in other words, is nearly as complex as the real situation it explores. But it gives it a human face.
The human faces don’t do too bad, here. The script is tight, and while long, it is full of intricacies that link the stories together. The camerawork is loose and documentary-like, not afraid to not light the scene. When it’s dark, strangely enough, it’s hard to see. Likewise the soundtrack makes use of silence to great effect, and the score (a mix of orchestra, hand drums and some electronic influences) is subtle and effective without being overbearing. George Clooney is fat, millions of venerable actors make cameos, Siddig El Fadil (Deep Space Nine, A Dangerous Man) is finally used again, and in general there are far too many well known actors here for the film to be this good. The only performance which reminded me I was watching a movie was Amanda Peet’s.
There is no way to step back from the situation in this part of the world and understand it. One is left either with a feeling of intense confusion and helplessness or dismisses the problem with a too-simple “what’s all the fuss about?” In Syriana we are privy to the way these motivations and figures and factors all play off on another in an unending carousel of corruption, money, and influence. There is no answer, it seems to tell us; the threads are too tangled. It’s a disturbing movie, a dark movie, and one of the only films I’ve seen recently that reminds me that I can expect intelligence from my entertainment.
The movie’s confusing plotline has gotten a lot of press, but in this case the confusion does not come from poor writing or directing but a deliberate effort to match the situation being portrayed. This is a case of form following content in a seamless, successful, disturbing film experience. Film is by nature manipulative, but how refreshing to have that manipulation underscored by hand drumming instead of orchestral swells, choppy cuts to dimly lit ambiguous figures instead of teary-eyed close ups of unnaturally attractive people.
The film opens with a silent montage, accompanied by low-key music, of workers in a Middle Eastern location. Their obvious degradation sets the tone for one of the threads running through this tapestry of a film. Soon we are introduced to so many facets of influence in the area that we cannot keep track of the motives involved, which include: oil, government, economics, capitalism, Islam, militancy, class, poverty, ego, terrorism, the CIA, political spin, family, wealth and privilege, and allegiance, among others. The film, in other words, is nearly as complex as the real situation it explores. But it gives it a human face.
The human faces don’t do too bad, here. The script is tight, and while long, it is full of intricacies that link the stories together. The camerawork is loose and documentary-like, not afraid to not light the scene. When it’s dark, strangely enough, it’s hard to see. Likewise the soundtrack makes use of silence to great effect, and the score (a mix of orchestra, hand drums and some electronic influences) is subtle and effective without being overbearing. George Clooney is fat, millions of venerable actors make cameos, Siddig El Fadil (Deep Space Nine, A Dangerous Man) is finally used again, and in general there are far too many well known actors here for the film to be this good. The only performance which reminded me I was watching a movie was Amanda Peet’s.
There is no way to step back from the situation in this part of the world and understand it. One is left either with a feeling of intense confusion and helplessness or dismisses the problem with a too-simple “what’s all the fuss about?” In Syriana we are privy to the way these motivations and figures and factors all play off on another in an unending carousel of corruption, money, and influence. There is no answer, it seems to tell us; the threads are too tangled. It’s a disturbing movie, a dark movie, and one of the only films I’ve seen recently that reminds me that I can expect intelligence from my entertainment.
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Now I'm all DS9 nostalgic. That show really was like a soap opera. Julian/Jadzia, ha.
Now I really want to see this Dangerous Man flick, and it's not in the library database or Blockbuster. *shakes fist*
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I had to buy a vhs copy of Dangerous Man. Should I lend it to you?
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I was thinking today of asking for your address so that we/I could send mail mail, but was overcome by the weird Taking Our Internet Relationship To The Next Level factor. What if you hated my handwriting and decided to stop commenting? Such tragic rejection I surely could not handle.
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But in a loveable way. I would gladly trade snail addys with you. My handwriting's nothing to uh.. write home about. I've taken to writing in all caps when I want to be specially understood (at work, etc). I won't do that to you, though.
I call it being "charmingly adorable"
But in a loveable way.
I could totally put that in my user profile.
Wow! I'm "charmingly adorable" too!
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Oh, and Kingdom of Heaven? Come for the pretty. Stay for the crack. Orlando Bloom killing a priest with a sword that is on fire while he stabs him is one of the best moments in cinematic history. WTF! I swear, the only decent actors in that movie are David Thewlis and whoever it is that plays Baldwin. Baldwin is like crack. Good, leprous crack.
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Don't listen to them. Stay with us, babe. We'll knock that pesky government loyalty right out of you! You are at a vital age to start Looking and Knowing and Thinking, which is awesome. Though in TX you might have trouble convincing others you're sane.
Do see Syriana. And if it doesn't make sense, it's not you. It's not supposed to, really; if you come away with a sense of what the situation's like, that's enough.
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In Texas, the cause for all our woes is apparently the French, any country in Europe, any of our neighboring countries in North America, the French, the Middle East, Russia, Space Aliens, and the French. And the democrats.
*huggles the French*
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I love replacing French w/ Freedom and vice versa. For everything.
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Really, I think all the parties are making me mad right now. I'm a Repollycrat.
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But why should I have to sit through hours and hours of commericalized pap that's too dumb for me? Should film conform to a lowest common denominator? I ask this because you seem to couch the film's potential alienating effect in a negative light; that people (perhaps the people who need to be convinced the most) won't get the valid message of this film because they can't follow it or are too intimidated to see it in the first place. I see that point. But I don't see a lot of films that can do for them *and* for me at once. How many television documentaries or news programs have I turned off because nothing was being said I didn't already know? Isn't there room for something you and I can learn from?
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