Syriana [DVD] [2005] [2006]

I had to put a review up after I saw the low rating - now, I know I gave it 5 stars (this is a personal rating after all), but I'm going to help people a little here rather than, as one person below me has, just give their side.

Now, consider carefully what type of cinema goer are you? Do you only watch films for big noises and improbable story lines? Do you go because you want to see good cinematography, with a genuine message? Or are you in the middle, and sometimes like either, depending on mood?

If you're the latter, give it a try when you're in a thoughtful mood, if you're the first of that list, probably not for you, if you're the second this is probably ideal (I myself don't mind admitting that I am the last of that list).

This is a truly thought-provoking, genuinly disturbing, and all too possible a series of situations, I would rate it as possibly the best film I will ever see.

Now, it has been accused of American-bashing by some americans (I have not seen a review outside of the US that has voiced this opinion) - but I believe it is unfounded. It is scathing to the global oil industry (and quite a few of these happen to be US owned) and to the US Governments attitude towards them in it's foreign policy, but this does not mean it's saying 'all americans are hateful'.

Give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Directed by Stephen Gaghan - writer of Soderberg's superb 'Traffic' - Syriana is a complex and fragmented web of stories that aims to provide a snapshot of the ways in which the US pursues its oil interests in the Middle East. In the same way that Traffic examined the US' war on drugs in the context of its relationship with Mexico, Syriana throws a spotlight on the US' hypocritical dealings with Arab nations and the terror it provokes (both the state-sponsored kind and that of Islamic martyrdom). The film is unapologetically confusing, drifting between a raft of obscure, character-driven stories without any overt attempt to help the viewers orientate themselves. In a sense it doesn't matter - in the same way that it doesn't matter if you understand all the dialogue in the West Wing - the message and implications are engaging even if the details aren't clear.

Syriana is put together skillfully with good individual performances all round. It is shot in starched, bleached tones, be it in the desert or the encroaching skyscrapers, edifices of modernity that reflect a dazzling indifference. The camera work roams relentlessly in the manner of war reportage, adding to the sense of urgency and impending terror. There are few surprises in a film about corruption and fundamentalism - both Islamic and Capitalist - and the plot revolving around the brainwashing of a young muslim ex-oil worker into a suicide bomber is somewhat simplistic. The fragmented style, with loosely connected plots overlapping, could also be compared to 21 Grams, but it is the shadow of Traffic that looms over Syriana, which can't quite match the strength of that film's humanity (brought about by its strong individual characterisations, not least that of Benetio Del Torro). Nevertheless, it is an impressive work brought about by a burgeoning liberal film scene that - unlike Michael Moore - deserves to be taken seriously.

"Syriana", directed by Stephen Gaghan, is an engaging film that tackles many different stories at the same time. All of them have something in common, though: the oil industry, and the people that have some kind of relationship with it.

Despite the fact that it is a little difficult to keep track of the diverse stories that "Syriana" comprises, it is well worth the effort, due to the fact that it allows the spectator to understand what is at stake for different people in the oil industry, and how a decision made by one of them affects the rest. What does Bob (George Clooney), a CIA operative, has to do with a poor immigrant who works in an oil field, or with a young reformist prince (Alexander Siddig)? And what do a broker (Matt Damon) and a lawyer (Jeffrey Wright) that don't know each other have to do with all of them? Oil, power, corruption and manipulation are the main subjects in "Syriana". This film is fiction, but some of its elements could well be truth, and that makes you think.

On the whole, I think "Syriana" is a complicated movie, but one that deserves your time and attention. If you don't mind the fact that you must follow several stories at once, and that this film is undeniably serious and doesn't have any kind of comic relief, I think you will enjoy "Syriana". I know I did...

Belen Alcat