Syriana

Certification: Netherlands:16 / Norway:15 / Singapore:NC-16 / Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) / Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) / Germany:12 / Argentina:16 / UK:15 / Australia:MA / Finland:K-15 / France:U / Ireland:15A / Brazil:16 / USA:R

Runtime: 126 min

Country: USA

Language: English / Urdu / Arabic / Persian / French

Color: Color

Sound Mix: DTS / Dolby Digital / SDDS Stephen Gaghan, wrote Traffic which was the winner of the Best Screenplay Academy Award. Gaghan uses the multi-angled approach of Traffic here. He paints a complex picture of the relationship between Big Oil corporations, the CIA and terrorism.

This is a world where politicians lack real power and where the real decisions are made in multinational boardrooms. If Syriana has a theme it is corruption. Almost all of the players have compromised any ideals they once may have had beyond recognition.

Syriana raises some big and sensitive questions: about political reform in Iran, what motivates a suicide bomber, America’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for fuel and exploitation of foreign workers in refinery compounds.

Syriana has a real ensemble cast with strong performances. Watch out for Jeffrey Wright as a lawyer starting to get a glimpse behind the power curtain and Matt damon as a maverick energy trader in search of redemption.