SYRIANA (the movie)

[rocketdog 0]

ay yi yi! i just saw Syriana & i don't even understand where the movie gets its title from?!?!?!?! could someone who has seen the movie PLEASE water down the plot/characters into a basic "Matt Damon's character supported Older Brother because [he liked him OR he agreed with his political goals ETC.]"

here's what i got from the movie: weapons of mass destruction are baaaaaaaaad.

(**keep this mind -- i am somewhat aware of Muslim beliefs but VERY confused when it comes to global trade/economics/politics**)

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP! although i have a feelings it's a very complex storyline.....

~hollywood

see the world! http://gorocketdog.blogspot.com

[skymama 37]

19 posts removed thanks to peacefuljeffery. Let's try this again...has anyone seen the movie who can water down the plot for Rocketdog?

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[jimmytavino 16]

I did see the movie a few weeks ago...

it seems like there are a number of different plotlines, somewhat interwoven...
It's the sort of movie that you DO need to see twice...in order to figure out some of the connections between the various plots and characters...
That part of the world is chaotic and wild,,, and NOT in a good way..... Mix in radical devotion to some suppossed "cause".. and the fact that many many individuals are at a loss as to the purpose of their lives, and those who can be manipulated and yes even brainwashed,, find themselves in bad and serious situations,, which have lasting impact, beyond the seemingly small acts which some of these devotees carry out.....Mix radical passion,
( misguided or not ) with access to explosives and with some religiously dictated need to "be part of something" and murder and mayhem will ensue...
What a crazy part of the world.... ( which the US may or may not have helped to create)....It is scary.
The US ( i.e. the Bush Admin. )seems to play by the message.... we must round up and remove the terrorists.... In fact the terrorists are like a nasty
hornets nest....leaving it alone and playing defense against it's attacks,,, That is,, working on preempting their plans..... seems to make a lot more sense to me,,, than does running over there where we don't belong and are not welcome, and hitting the nest with a stick,, and then scratching our heads, and wondering why "all the hornets are scattering from that nest and flying off to sting people here there and everywhere " ......Of course that may be simplifying things.. but from the perspective of those foreigners....WE are viewed as invaders, troublemakers and Targets!!!!!
Oh and peacefuljeffery,,,How could you not like Clooney,, Must be you haven't seen his fine work, in OH Brother Where Art Thou??? hahahahaha . jmy

[rocketdog 0]

THANK YOU SKYMAMA!

jimmy~ ok so am i right that the US & US oil powers were directly & indirectly responsible for the bombing @ the end of the movie?! because obviously they supported the NEW Emir (the younger bro) and his policies, not the older bro who was pushing for reform & equality. can you explain to me WHY George Clooney was finding the older bro's brigade at the end of the movie?

THAT WOULD BE A START TO ME UNDERSTANDING IT!
~hollywood

see the world! http://gorocketdog.blogspot.com

[jimmytavino 16]

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THANK YOU SKYMAMA!

jimmy~ ok so am i right that the US & US oil powers were directly & indirectly responsible for the bombing @ the end of the movie?! because obviously they supported the NEW Emir (the younger bro) and his policies, not the older bro who was pushing for reform & equality.

. It seems to show that ruthlessness is common to many and that seemingly unrelated occurences have indirect and unanticipated impact on other occurences.. The fact that the younger brother prevailed allowed the gas and oil "business" to proceed as usual.. The Damon character and the
"older brother" storyline did offer some chance at sensibility, some hope that ALL is not evil.... but as is usually the case.... "the good" get disregarded, fail to prosper, indeed risk their lives...

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can you explain to me WHY George Clooney was finding the older bro's brigade at the end of the movie?

[genoyamamoto 0]

Check out "Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold our Soul for Saudi Crude", by Robert Baer. Syriana is based (at least partially) on this book.

Gotta go... plaything needs to spank me
Feel the hate...
Photos here

[gmanpilot 0]

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could someone who has seen the movie PLEASE water down the plot/characters...although i have a feelings it's a very complex storyline

Domestic politics, oil, foreign policy, greed, religion, poverty, terrorism, national security, etc. The complexity/confusion is part of the plot, intentionally. IMO, that complexity is best displayed by the founder of the law firm (I don't know the actor's name). He is the puppet master of many, yet he serves several masters, with conflicting agendas. It was he who orchestrated the ending.

_________________________________________
-There's always free cheese in a mouse trap.

[Beerlight 0]

Hands down, one of the worst movies I've seen this year.......

[diablopilot 2]

Well that's one opinion.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[rocketdog 0]

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IMO, that complexity is best displayed by the founder of the law firm (I don't know the actor's name). He is the puppet master of many, yet he serves several masters, with conflicting agendas. It was he who orchestrated the ending.

ok HOLD ON! are you talking about the man in the very beginning who was trimming the rosebush?! how did he orchestrate the ending? i'm sorry to be so clueless but i understand how he was a key player though rarely seen.

oh it's been bugging me ~ where did the movie get this title?

THANKS EVERYONE
~hollywood

P.S. (it couldn't have been worse than Collateral)

see the world! http://gorocketdog.blogspot.com

[raggdoll 0]

Note: I have not seen the movie yet, though I've read the reviews and a long synopsis. To answer your question--

I think the title means, directly translated, "a collection of items relating to...Syria," since ana as a suffix means "collection of items relating" and "Ancient Syria also included Lebanon, most of present-day Israel and Jordan, and part of Iraq and Saudi Arabia." The above is all true, too, according to dictionary.com.
Sometimes after I've seen a movie and a bit has bothered me or I can't remember how it related to something, I visit http://www.themoviespoiler.com. The summaries are really good but it is a spoiler site.

Best of luck.

[rocketdog 0]

hilarious avatar... ANYWAY.... thanks for the help!

next Q: did Matt Damon's son really die from drowning?! i feel like it was homicide connected to the Emirs, but only because that 1 surveilance screen wasn't working....... ? am i completely wrong ?

~hollywood

see the world! http://gorocketdog.blogspot.com

[Amazon 7]

Matt Damons son was electrocuted. There was a short in one of the lights in the side of the pool where the bulb had been cracked.

[crotalus01 0]

basically the message of the movie was that instability in the middle east is vital to American oil interests, but also works against the oil industry - hence the ending where the kids attack the oil platform. also why the CIA had to assasinate the Emir's brother before he could perform a coup and stabalize the region. hope that helps - its a good but very disjointed film.

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[Amazon 7]

It did a good job at showing how the Pakistani guest workers were treated when they lost their jobs with the one oil company when the campany lost the original contract to the Chinese.

Such treatment and lack of prospects drove them into the Islamic fundamentalist fold with the religeous school and its teaching... and the ones who really accelled in the teachings were recruited into being terrorists by the leaders of the religeous school.

[rocketdog 0]

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and the ones who really accelled in the teachings were recruited into being terrorists by the leaders of the religeous school.

i didn't think so...... remember how spiritually lost the main Muslim boy was? i think the leaders looked for kids who were unsure & malleable.

BUT geez, i can't believe i couldn't figure out he was electrocuted

~hollywood

see the world! http://gorocketdog.blogspot.com

[crotalus01 0]

IMO that whole part of the film was to show how people in that area of the world get recruited into suicide missions - they have NO hope for a better future, so when they are told by religious leaders that if they are shaheed (martyred in the name of allah) they will receive an instant ticket to paradise.
in reality (which they did not show) the families of the shaheed are well taken care of - Iran is known for donating thousands of dollars to the families of suicide bombers striking Israel...

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[rocketdog 0]

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Iran is known for donating thousands of dollars to the families of suicide bombers striking Israel..

REALLY? but how do they track them down? in the boy's situation in the movie it seems highly unlikely that his family will be rewarded (monetarily) for his sacrifice.

also, -- i can't remember but -- what was the older brother (NOT the Emir) en route to when he died?..... i feel like this held some significance but i could be absolutely wrong

~hollywood

P.S. so Crotalus, since it seems you understood the movie, did you think it was a GOOD movie? well done?

see the world! http://gorocketdog.blogspot.com

[nerdgirl 0]

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ay yi yi! i just saw Syriana & i don't even understand where the movie gets its title from?!?!?!?!

Syriana is phrase that has/had been used in the intelligence community (IC) and DC think-tanks (populated by former members of the IC) to generally refer to a more US-friendly middle East. I get the impression that it was a popular concept in the 1990s.

Someone already mentioned Bob Baer's book.

One of the things that I most liked about the movie was that it left a great deal, like much of the ending and motivations of the main characters, up to the viewer's interpretation.

The film inspired a conversation on the lack of rewards for ethical behavior and the lack of negative consequences for unethical behavior between myself (non-IC) and an IC (analyst not operations) friend with whom I saw the movie.

marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[rocketdog 0]

good way of summing it all up!

why did George Clooney want to return to Beirut (sp?). was it because he wanted to "warn" the older brother.... was it to retaliate against the department that just terminated him..... was it for sheer pleasure?

i'm wondering if this is something implied that i SHOULD HAVE picked up on, or if it's one of those interpretative skits. what do you think?!

~hollywood

see the world! http://gorocketdog.blogspot.com