Syriana

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Syriana
What is the price of oil?
2005-12-14
Article Written by: Sami Jo

Syriana is a compelling political thriller illustrating the connection between money, oil, business and government. The film's multiple storylines weave from the men behind scandalous deals in Washington to the men on the oil fields in the Persian Gulf . CIA operative Bob Barnes (George Clooney) begins to uncover the secrets behind the work he's devoted his life to. Corporate lawyer Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) investigates the questionable merger of two US oil companies. Oil broker Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon) forms a partnership with an idealistic Gulf prince. A Pakistani teenager (Mazhar Munir) faces many of the challenges of everyday life.

Director Stephen Gaghan ( Traffic ) adapted the screenplay from Robert Baer's book See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism . In addition to George Clooney ( Ocean's Twelve ), Matt Damon ( Ocean's Twelve ) and Jeffrey Wright ( The Manchurian Candidate ), the film also stars Christopher Plummer ( The Sound of Music ), Chris Cooper ( Jarhead ) and Amanda Peet ( The Whole Ten Yards ) among many others. The well-known cast successfully puts a face on all of the unknown people whose lives revolve around the oil industry, and Gaghan brings a sense of humanity to the film. The film not only depicts the careers of the main characters but also slightly delves into each character's home life. Barnes has a distant relationship with his son and a strange relationship with his wife who is also in the CIA. Holiday 's father is a drunk. Woodman's oldest son tragically dies in a pool, which inevitably leads to marital problems.

One of the more interesting sub-plots of the story gave an explanation to reasons behind suicide bombing. The Pakistani teenager and his father lose their jobs on an oil field and have problems finding more work because they don't speak Arabic. Without work, they will get deported back to the country they came from. Their goal is to make enough money to move his mother to the region they are currently living in. The teenager starts to question his religion and his faith and joins a group of men involved with suicide bombing. There is no justification for this sort of action, but the film reminds its audience that suicide bombers are in fact real people.

Ad campaigns for the film pose the question "What is the price of oil?" The answer, which is not only seen in the film, but everyday across the globe, is human lives. It's important to remember that Syriana is only a film. Don't go to the theater expecting to find a solution to global oil problems.

Final Thought: The film provided me with more evidence that we need to find an alternate resource for fuel.

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Syriana