Syriana (2005)

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

Director:

Stephen Gaghan

Writers:

Stephen Gaghan, Robert Baer (book)

Stars:

Kayvan Novak, George Clooney, Matt Damon

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Janus
Richard Lintern	...	Bryan's Boss

Storyline

A missile disappears in Iran, but the CIA has other problems: the heir to an Emirate gives an oil contract to China, cutting out a US company that promptly fires its immigrant workers and merges with a small firm that has landed a Kazakhstani oil contract. The Department of Justice suspects bribery, and the oil company's law firm finds a scapegoat. The CIA also needs one when its plot to kill the Emir-apparent fails. Agent Bob Barnes, the fall guy, sorts out the double cross. An American economist parlays the death of his son into a contract to advise the sheik the CIA wants dead. The jobless Pakistanis join a fundamentalist group. All roads start and end in the oil fields.

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Plot Keywords:

oil | cia | oil company | immigrant | emirate | 

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Taglines:

Everything is connected

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [jp] Warner Bros. [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Urdu Arabic Persian French Mandarin

Release Date:

9 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

See No Evil

Filming Locations:

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$75,781 (Hong Kong) (31 March 2006)

Gross:

$50,815,288 (USA) (14 April 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Participant Productions, 4M

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Greta Scacchi played Bob Barnes' wife and Robby Barnes' mother. Her role was cut from the final release.

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Goofs

During breakfast at the Woodman household, the level of cereal in Riley's bowl changes between shots.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits after the title is shown.

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Connections

Featured in The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Church Scene"
(1983) (uncredited)
from The Outsiders
Written by Carmine Coppola

User Reviews

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.