U.S. energy giant Connex Oil is losing control of key oil fields in a Persian Gulf kingdom ruled by the Al-Subaai family. In the 2005 movie "Syriana," Maryland stood in for sites like Geneva and Russia, he said. The dealers are later revealed to be Iranian Intelligence agents. Janus is able to accept the "Oil Industry Man of the Year" award with a load taken off his shoulders. Syriana is a complex espionage thriller involving government corruption, oil, and international terrorism. Holiday gives up Dalton, but Farish says this is not enough. While on assignment in Tehran to kill two arms dealers, Barnes notices that one of two anti-aircraft missiles intended to be used in a bombing was diverted to an Egyptian, while the other explodes and kills the two arms dealers. Jeremiah thinks that this whole . Syriana is a thriller of corruption and power related to the oil industry that tells four parallel stories: the CIA agent Bob Barnes with great experience in Middle East that falls in disgrace after an unsuccessful mission dealing missiles in Lebanese Republic; the investigation of the attorney Bennett Holiday related to the merge of two American oil companies, Connex and Killen; the traumatic association of the energy analyst Bryan Woodman with the son of a powerful emir of Emirate; and the social drama of the Pakistani immigrant worker Wasim Khan that is fired by the oil company. At the party, Damon's son dies by accident. Syriana Movie review by Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Common Sense says age 17+ International intrigue in Mideast. [6] Soderbergh bought the rights to See No Evil and negotiated the deal with Warner Bros.[9], Gaghan met Baer for lunch and then, for six weeks in 2002, the two men traveled from Washington to Geneva to the French Riviera to Lebanon, Syria and Dubai, meeting with lobbyists, arms dealers, oil traders, Arab officials and the spiritual leader of Hezbollah. Holiday meets with the CEO of Killen Oil, Jimmy Pope, and informs him that the DOJ needs a second body in order to drop the investigation. In a December 2005 interview, Baer told NPR that the title is a metaphor for foreign intervention in the Middle East, referring to post-World War I think tank strategic studies for the creation of an artificial state (such as Iraq, created from elements of the former Ottoman Empire) that ensured continued western access to crude oil. Through the story of a boy and his father . American psychological thriller movie Split was widely loved by the audiences. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. "Syriana" is a movie that suggests Congress can hold endless hearings about oil company profits and never discover the answer to anything, because the real story is so labyrinthine that no one -- not oil company executives, not Arab princes, not CIA spies, not traders in Geneva, understands the whole picture. Syriana was shot in 200 locations in five continents, with large parts shot in the Middle East, Washington, D.C., and Africa. Source: Getty. "[11] This is the second Stephen Gaghan-written role Ford has declined, having turned down the role of Robert Wakefield in Traffic, a role that eventually went to Michael Douglas. Historically, Syria refers not to the state that since 1944 has borne the name, but to a more extensive land stretching from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea to the middle Euphrates River and the western edge of the desert steppe, and from the Tauric system of mountains in the north to the edge of the Sinai desert in the south. Madeleine Brand speaks with . Syriana 2005 Directed by Stephen Gaghan Synopsis Everything is connected. The movie released in 2016 and was directed by M Night Shyamalan. He told Rolling Stone: "I was at a point where I thought, I can't exist like this. You start to think in terms of, you don't want to leave a mess, so go in the garage, go in the car, start the engine. This starts a very trippy ending with flashbacks . "[21] The film has a score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 40 critics indicating "Generally favorable reviews". While playing soccer, they meet a charismatic Islamic fundamentalist, the same man who received the missing Tehran missile, who eventually leads them to execute a suicide attack on a Connex-Killen tanker using the missile. Contact me | Privacy policy | Join the mailing list | Links. But if you do think about it, with even a modicum of depth . Barnes's boss, Terry George, worries that Barnes might talk about the Nasir assassination plan and that killing Nasir with a drone would make it obvious as an American-backed assassination. For the term's use in international relations, see, African-American Film Critics Association, Excellence in Production Design for a Contemporary Film, DallasFort Worth Film Critics Association, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "New Group Aims to Drum Up Backing for Ousting Hussein", "A Half-Dozen Ways to Watch the Same Movie", Harrison Ford: 'I should have been in Syriana', "Ex-CIA Agent Robert Baer, Inspiration for 'Syriana', "Dubai censor cuts scenes of labour abuse from 'Syriana', "Soderbergh, Clooney and Co. Make Mideast Mess Too Simple", "King Clooney and the 10 Best Movies of 2005", "Democracy 'n' Action: 25 Powerful Political Thrillers", "Metacritic: 2005 Film Critic Top Ten Lists", "Ebert and Roeper Top Ten Lists (2000-2005))", "The 78th Academy Awards (2006) Nominees and Winners", "Academy Award Noms: Oscar's western union", "African American Film Critics Association Select, "AFI Awards 2005: AFI Movies of the Year", British Academy of Film and Television Arts, "The 11th Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners and Nominees", "DallasFort Worth Film Critics 2005 Awards", "The Winners of the 7th Annual Golden Trailer Awards", "Hollywood Film Festival Bestows Kudos, Stephen Frears's, "The New York Film Critics Online Awards 2005", "Screen Actors Guild Honors Outstanding Film and Television Performances in 13 Categories at the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards", "Nominations Announced for the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards", "SYAD dlleri in Adaylar Aiklandi", "SYAD dlleri 39. [19], Syriana received generally positive reviews, mostly for Clooney's performance and Gaghan's screenplay. Clooney won an Oscar for his role in 'Syriana'. that the merger would not break any antitrust regulations. All rights reserved. Woodman, having earlier offered his seat in Nasir's car to a member of the prince's family, survives the drone strike and goes home to his wife and remaining son. The beings who have been whispering into Caleb's (Chandler Canterbury) and Abby's (Lara Robinson) ears finally reveal themselves as a more evolved alien race, who have been landing space arks all. The word Syriana derives from Syria + the Latin suffix -ana; it means, roughly, "in the manner of Syria." The sheik awards Damon's firm a $100 million contract. Corruption? More books than SparkNotes. Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is Copyright 2009-2022, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. [11] Syriana originally had five storylines, all of which were filmed. Harrison Ford turned down the role of Bob Barnes (the role played by George Clooney), regretting it later, stating, "I didn't feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake. As a result, a merger with Killen, a smaller Texan oil company that won drilling rights in the rich subsoil of Kazakhstan, is in full swing. SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia. The missile launcher that Barnes lost at the beginning of the film, ends up in the hands of the migrant workers, Wasim (Mahzar Munir) and Saleem Khan (Shahid Ahmed). This essay considers the theatrical representation of the individual and war in a time of disintegrating national states. He survived the blast and returns home to be with his family. Committee for the Liberation of Iran was based on an organization called Committee for the Liberation of Iraq.[5]. "[20] The film has a score of 76 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 40 critics indicating "Generally favorable reviews". While sitting with his agent in a restaurant, he pictures Annie as a waitress with a knife, but this is nothing but a hallucination. "[17] An American economist parlays the death of his son into a . In a hyperlink movie the motives of one character may have to be reinterpreted after we meet another one. Just as Woodman and all the other guests are brought to the pool area, Woodman's son jumps into the pool and is electrocuted. The website's consensus states, "Ambitious, complicated, intellectual, and demanding of its audience, Syriana is both a gripping geopolitical thriller and wake-up call to the complacent. In the short run, you can see who wants oil and how they're trying to get it. Watch Now On Movie Details Ranking on other Records and Milestones Its interlocking stories come down to one thing: There is less oil than the world requires, and that will make some people rich and others dead. Call Aaron @ 707-815-7372. Holiday tells Connex-Killen of his discovery, and they pretend not to have known about it. If Connex-Killen were a country, it would rank as the world's twenty-third largest economy, and antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice (DOJ) have concerns. He has Barnes's passports revoked, locks him out of his computer at work, and initiates an investigation of him. The movie seems to take sides, but take a step back and look again. [3] In an interview with Charlie Rose, Gaghan described incidents (including planned regime changes in Venezuela) from personal meetings and interviews with the most powerful oil owners, owners of media houses, lobbyists, lawyers, and politicians which were included in the film. The fifth storyline, centering on Michelle Monaghan playing a Miss USA who becomes involved with a rich Arab oilman, was cut when the film became too complicated. Vi, devastated, walks away from her sister. After his friend Lisa Kudrow sent him to her neurologist brother for a consultation, his worries were confirmed. Thinking she's been abandoned, Powder is approached by . Director Stephen Gaghan Writers Stephen Gaghan Robert Baer (book "See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism") Stars George Clooney Matt Damon Amanda Peet This land was part of the Fertile Crescent, and has historically been a geopolitically crucial junction for trade routes from the east, from Asia Minor and the Aegean, and from Egypt, and has long been a focus of great power conflicts. [7] Another source of inspiration came from 9/11 and Gaghan's lack of knowledge about the Middle East. A politically charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved in and affected by it. African-American Film Critics Association, Excellence in Production Design for a Contemporary Film, DallasFort Worth Film Critics Association, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, New Group Aims to Drum Up Backing for Ousting Hussein, A Half-Dozen Ways to Watch the Same Movie, http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2006/03/04/story247617.asp, Ex-CIA Agent Robert Baer, Inspiration for 'Syriana', Dubai censor cuts scenes of labour abuse from 'Syriana', Soderbergh, Clooney and Co. Make Mideast Mess Too Simple, King Clooney and the 10 Best Movies of 2005, Democracy 'n' Action: 25 Powerful Political Thrillers, Metacritic: 2005 Film Critic Top Ten Lists, Ebert and Roeper Top Ten Lists (2000-2005)), The 78th Academy Awards (2006) Nominees and Winners, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy Award Noms: Oscar's western union, African American Film Critics Association Select, The 11th Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners and Nominees, DallasFort Worth Film Critics 2005 Awards, The Winners of the 7th Annual Golden Trailer Awards, Hollywood Film Festival Bestows Kudos, Stephen Frears's, The New York Film Critics Online Awards 2005, Screen Actors Guild Honors Outstanding Film and Television Performances in 13 Categories at the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Nominations Announced for the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, 18th Annual USC Scripter Award Winner Announced, WGA Announces Nominees for Writers Guild Awards. "How much for my other son?" Bryan Woodman is an American energy analyst based in Geneva. Greco-Roman administrations were the first to apply the term to a definite district. When Bob is in the elevator in the hotel in Beirut, a camera lens is visible in an elevator mirror. Behind George Clooney's confident charm is a very real man who wrestles with doubt, wakes five times a night and is "terrified" of not achieving what he wants. Syriana is a demanding film, requiring some background knowledge. [34], This article is about the film. The CIA sets forward their plan to assassinate Nasir. Only, Bingbing is there to stop him. This is a brutal line of dialogue and creates a moment trembling with tension. Professionally, he has just survived a war with New York has, in fact, enough juice that he was able to . What is a sovereign nation, but a collective of greed run by one individual? Syriana originally had five storylines, all of which were filmed. [5] As with Gaghan's screenplay for Traffic, Syriana uses multiple, parallel storylines, jumping between locations in Iran, Texas, Washington, D.C., Switzerland, Spain, and Lebanon. It is all problem. This isn't about Left and Right but about Have and Have Not. Since none of the characters understand the whole picture, why should we? DANNY -Some trust fund prosecutor, got off-message at Brown, thinks hes gonna run this up the flag pole, make a name for himself, maybe get elected some two-bit, no-name congressman from nowhere, with the result that Russia or China can suddenly start having, at our expense, all the advantages we enjoy here. He has Barnes's passports revoked, locks him out of his computer at work, and initiates an investigation of him. Ending 2: Anna and Syanna both live. Holiday gives up Dalton, but Farish says this is not enough. Syriana is one such film. I liked the way I experienced the film: I couldn't explain the story, but I never felt lost in it. 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