I guess I had a bit too high hopes for this film. It seems that the film only played in filmhouses because it is critical towards the American government, rather than because it is an arthouse film. The film shows all sides of the oil industry and picks up some recent developments. You will see American corporations trying to secure their oil reserves, the way they keep contacts and contracts in the Middle East, but you also get the view of the Middle East, how they try to make their business, the way presure is laid on them, etc. The actual focus of the film lays in the large, grey area between the American and Middle Eastern corporations with shady persons and groups having different agendas. “Syriana” surely is no boring watch, but it is a bit too Hollywood/American (at least for me as a European). The insight it gives is interesting upto a certain point, but as a film it is nothing really special.
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