Syriana

Saw Syriana. First reaction after the movie: I need to see it again. I really was at a lost. I knew what was happening and the underlying message of the movie, but then again..I didn't know what was really happening and I'm not sure what the underlying message was. Right when I got home, I looked at Roger Ebert's review (read that for a really good synopsis). He said it was a brilliant movie, but like me, he didn't get it either. The best thing he said about the movie: "I couldn't explain the story, but I never felt lost in it."

In short, Ebert hit the nail on the head. Each character was a cog in the big oil machine. The characters in the movie didn't understand the big picture and neither should the audience. I kept looking for a black and white story: who's the good guys, who's the bad guys? There are none. I thought it could be George Clooney's character-the CIA assasin-but he's a tool like everyone else. Even he couldn't understand how he fit into the big picture.

Despite the cleverness of the film, the plethora of characters in the movie are difficult to keep track of and I'm sure the filmmakers wanted to do that on purpose. I think no matter how hard you try to understand it, you'll never fully understand how big and complex the oil machine is.