Quick summary: A Middle Eastern prince makes a deal to sell oil to China, and a small Texan oil firm makes a deal for all the oil in Kazakhstan. A bigger oil company wants both, and the CIA wants America to get the oil that's going to China. Laid-off oil field workers, economic advisors and lawyers all get involved, and professional and personal agendas clash in a sea of corruption.
Quick review: This movie was called "incomprehensible" by a number of people I know, seemingly because it takes an extremely complex issue and makes an extremely complex story from it. The subject matter would usually be put in service of a thriller, but Syriana is instead a Robert Altman-style ensemble piece with various tenuously connecting threads coming together and moving apart. The only bit I didn't like was towards the end, when it tries to give us a thriller-type ending anyway.
As with Retribution this movie demands that you pay close attention to everything that is said or done, rather than spoon-feeding you like most movies. I appreciate that.
As for the politics of the piece: seemed ok to me.
Posted by joey at October 9, 2007 10:14 AM"Incomprehensible"???
If anyone had said that to me, I'd have to respond with the recomendation to *watch* the film, rather than just be an audience.
I liked the film, a lot.
Posted by: Scott A at October 9, 2007 1:42 PM