Syriana (2005)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Stephen Gaghan

Writers (WGA):

Robert Baer (book) (suggestion)
Stephen Gaghan (written by)

Release Date:

9 December 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Everything is connected

Plot:

A politically-charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it.

Plot Keywords:

Oil | CIA | Oil Company | Pakistani | Immigrant

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Kayvan Novak	...	Arash
George Clooney	...	Bob Barnes
Amr Waked	...	Mohammed Sheik Agiza
Christopher Plummer	...	Dean Whiting
Jeffrey Wright	...	Bennett Holiday
Chris Cooper	...	Jimmy Pope
Robert Foxworth	...	Tommy Barton
Nicky Henson	...	Sydney Hewitt
Nicholas Art	...	Riley Woodman
Matt Damon	...	Bryan Woodman
Amanda Peet	...	Julie Woodman
Steven Hinkle	...	Max Woodman
Daisy Tormé	...	Rebecca
Peter Gerety	...	Leland "Lee" Janus
Richard Lintern	...	Bryan's Boss

Also Known As:

See No Evil (USA) (working title)
Syriana (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Сириана (Russia) [ru]
Sirijana (Serbia) [sr]
Syriana (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Syriana (Greece) [el]
Syriana (Venezuela) [es]
Syriana (Germany) [de]
Syriana - A Indústria do Petróleo (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Urdu | Arabic | Persian | French | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | UK:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:MA | Norway:15 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | Germany:12 | Brazil:14 | Sweden:15 | India:UA | Philippines:R-13 | Hungary:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:U | Spain:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Stephen Gaghan had wanted Christian Bale to play Bryan Woodman, but he had to turn the part down due to his commitment to The New World (2005).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When entering the "Hezbollah controlled neighborhood" by car you can see through the windshield (from inside the car) another team shooting the scene on the left side of the road.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Arash: Bobby, where have you been?

Movie Connections:

Featured in You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Let Da Monkey Out

Syriana: the smart scripts that speaks

Syriana, starring Matt Damon and George Clooney, reveals a possible honesty in foreign political corruption. The movie starts out a bit discombobulating, but the ending unleashes a truism in our society. Directed and written by Stephen Gaghan (Screenplay for Traffic 2000), the script for Syriana shows not only a smart liberal-approached storyline, but also how much the American and Arabian lives becomes juxtaposed by oil politics. Based on the non-fiction book "See No Evil" by Robert Baer, Syriana takes its viewer step by step through the birth and processes of terrorism; and tears at the roots from where all violence and corruption derives.

The movie starts with the introduction of a character, Bob (George Clooney), an American CIA agent who works in the Middle East for years witnessing the destruction of social injustice. The movie then turns light to the American governmental affairs and its due process to make oil business proposals and governmental decisions to promote oil driven businesses in the Middle East. Bryan (Matt Damon) struggling to survive in America's capitalistic society thrives to introduce business opportunities in the Middle East; but before completing any deals with reformer and leader, Prince Nasir, all the characters, including a young Arabic man suffering from American politics and social injustices, end up experiencing sacrifices beyond comprehensible.

The movie leaves its audience stunned with a raw realism that the world we live is not a pretty picture, and all the beliefs you trust can be questionable. Although the movie definitely wouldn't exactly be a "feel good movie", its thought provoking and enlightening, and I don't think it was ever meant to be a "feel good movie." The movie shows a perspective worth learning, considering and understanding. And although the movie takes the viewer through a roller-coaster of different lives and people objectives at the beginning of the film, the movie ties in brilliantly to connect not only the characters lives, but the lives of the audience and everyone's lives who have capitalistic motives.