Syriana

[No spoilers]

Just came back from seeing "Syriana" and while I enjoyed the movie, I have -no- idea what happened at the end. The plot is just as convoluted and involved as "JFK", but I was without the familiarity that I have with the Kennedy assassination (all of the rumors and theories are almost cliche' these days). The film was filled with brilliant casting and acting, but there were so many people that I needed a program to remember who was who (I especially had a hard time remembering who was with the US gov and who was an oil tycoon/businessman).

I was doing just fine until the end, when everything suddenly came together (too fast). The reviews have given the film credit for not dumbing the story down (the complicated structure of Oil unfolds as you watch), but I would have LOVED a little text at the end of the film that explained the ending. More credit to the filmmakers for showing that the news we read is incredibly dumb'd down-- the situation there is like a spider web, where tweaking a line on one remote part of the web shakes the whole structure. They did a fine job showing how the "good guys" the US supports and the "bad guys" we kill aren't necessarily what they are labeled-- that "good" just often just means useful for the US. And they did this without really making anyone a bad guy, including the US: there are so many agendas and reasons (good and bad) for things to happen that it's more like watching a football game than a battle of good or evil. Highly recommended for those who love complex political thrillers!

Syriana

[No spoilers]

Just came back from seeing "Syriana" and while I enjoyed the movie, I have -no- idea what happened at the end. The plot is just as convoluted and involved as "JFK", but I was without the familiarity that I have with the Kennedy assassination (all of the rumors and theories are almost cliche' these days). The film was filled with brilliant casting and acting, but there were so many people that I needed a program to remember who was who (I especially had a hard time remembering who was with the US gov and who was an oil tycoon/businessman).

I was doing just fine until the end, when everything suddenly came together (too fast). The reviews have given the film credit for not dumbing the story down (the complicated structure of Oil unfolds as you watch), but I would have LOVED a little text at the end of the film that explained the ending. More credit to the filmmakers for showing that the news we read is incredibly dumb'd down-- the situation there is like a spider web, where tweaking a line on one remote part of the web shakes the whole structure. They did a fine job showing how the "good guys" the US supports and the "bad guys" we kill aren't necessarily what they are labeled-- that "good" just often just means useful for the US. And they did this without really making anyone a bad guy, including the US: there are so many agendas and reasons (good and bad) for things to happen that it's more like watching a football game than a battle of good or evil. Highly recommended for those who love complex political thrillers!

Syriana

[No spoilers]

Just came back from seeing "Syriana" and while I enjoyed the movie, I have -no- idea what happened at the end. The plot is just as convoluted and involved as "JFK", but I was without the familiarity that I have with the Kennedy assassination (all of the rumors and theories are almost cliche' these days). The film was filled with brilliant casting and acting, but there were so many people that I needed a program to remember who was who (I especially had a hard time remembering who was with the US gov and who was an oil tycoon/businessman).

I was doing just fine until the end, when everything suddenly came together (too fast). The reviews have given the film credit for not dumbing the story down (the complicated structure of Oil unfolds as you watch), but I would have LOVED a little text at the end of the film that explained the ending. More credit to the filmmakers for showing that the news we read is incredibly dumb'd down-- the situation there is like a spider web, where tweaking a line on one remote part of the web shakes the whole structure. They did a fine job showing how the "good guys" the US supports and the "bad guys" we kill aren't necessarily what they are labeled-- that "good" just often just means useful for the US. And they did this without really making anyone a bad guy, including the US: there are so many agendas and reasons (good and bad) for things to happen that it's more like watching a football game than a battle of good or evil. Highly recommended for those who love complex political thrillers!