Black Gold (2013)
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.
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An Exercise In Nonsense
A different way of telling a story
It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Set in the 1930s Arab states at the dawn of the oil boom, the story centers on a young Arab prince torn between allegiance to his conservative father and modern, liberal father-in-law. Even with actors such as Mark Strong and Antonio Banderas in the main roles 'Black Gold' was just boring from the start. The whole romance was also under developed and overall it's one of those films that people will forget that was even made in the first place. (0/10)
Why? hard to explain... not really! Without trying to get your sympathy for my reviews, I will share something not so private: my dad before teaching me how to ride a bicycle or to properly talk, he took me to movies, talked about every actor and director, therefore I love movies, he died 41 years ago, when I was eight years old, and while watching, "Day of the Falcon" I wished he had been sitting next to me, like he did on "Laurence of Arabia".On this times of so much abuse for Especial Effects and CG, a story like "Day of the Falcon" is so well crafted that easily translate to the movie screen, is so refreshing, so "cool" as we say these days, that after the ending I could still feel the magic of my long gone childhood after the matinées with warriors, pirates, horses and men in turbans or hats, dinosaurs and else, and because of that feeling, and magic, I recommend this almost unknown and pretty much, ignored movie.Every actor from the most famous or not, delivers, the photography, the sceneries, everything! Creates the ambiance that every movie should have for us in order to keep on loving films!
Jean-Jacques Annuad's wannabe epic The Day of the Falcon (also known as Black Gold) feature's some of the most bizarre and downright idiotic casting choices ever committed to celluloid and due to this ruins any chance the movie had at being a sweeping tale of love, family and war in the barren lands of early nineteenth century Arabia.The Day of the Falcon is a suitably large scale looking film with a huge budget handed to it by its Saudi Arabian backers but money must have been thrown in the majority at its world spanning cast who look like lost souls in a movie that would've been much more suited casting locals as to not distract from what is essentially a ripe storyline. A Prophet breakout star Tahar Rahim fairs best in the cast but from him it's all horribly downhill. We have a Spaniard (Banderas), a cockney Englishman (Strong) and a clearly Indian (Pinto) filling out the cast of natives. No amount of makeup or costume design can hide the fact that these people are in no way shape or form from this country which really is insulting to both the story and the audiences. These casting mistakes are made all the more hard to swallow when Annaud's film showcases select scenes that make one think they are watching a better movie.Annuad has shown promise behind the camera before with Enemy at the Gates one of the more enjoyable guilty pleasures of the last decade or so and here again proves to have a good eye for the large scale detail, but within the film those scenes are few and far between with a seemingly intense finale playing out far too quickly and characters never truly making a mark on the audience. The film certainly looks pretty in a sandy type of way and the period of history in which the film takes place makes it a more intriguing prospect than it deserves to be but that's in no way a selling point.Day of the Falcon was an almighty flop the world over and a film that has rightfully been passed over by many film lover. It's good to see up and coming actor Tahir Rahim take lead in a picture of this scale and he is a shining light in an otherwise pointless movie that proves to those in the business that casting name actors at the expense of believability is a big mistake.1 and a half miscast foreign actors out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com
I saw this movie yesterday on TV and I was instantly captured by its slow start showing the remains of the battle between the two kings. The movie tells the story of the beginning of oil extraction somewhere in the Arabic world. The clash between the strong traditional Islam and the modern western culture is the main thread of the movie. In the end these two worlds blend leaving hope for the best of each to occur. This is a movie contradictory with "classical" anti-American orientation of the Islamic people. Quite a story to tell about honesty, trust, greed, love and friendship. There are several actors to remark in this movie: - The well know Banderas as Emir Nessib is performing as expected for a star of his caliber. His portrays a deceiving king that becomes addicted to become reach by selling the oil from the "Yellow Bent", a piece of desert disputed for centuries between him and Namar. He makes use of everything to argue his actions, including the Coran, his daughter, his sons. - Mark Strong as king Namar produces the biggest impression on me. If I were to imagine a Bedouin warrior king, that would be him. He speaks words of memorable wisdom (a plus for the script) and portrays the "just" leader who keeps his word, lives in honor, respecting the tradition of the Coran. He is also the rigid traditionalist, imposing stupid rules to his people through questionable interpretation of the Coran (like western medicine prohibition). - Tahar Rahim - is the main character of the movie, seeing him evolving from the geek prince Auda surrounded by books to the true leader uniting all the tribes in the end. He is a versatile actor and performs very convincing. - Freida Pinto as princess Leyla is not so convincing, apart from her beauty, keeps alive the myth of "beatiful Arab women", takes part in the conventional end of the plot. - Eriq Ebouaney is remarkable in the secondary role of long time loyal general Hassan Dakhill. The scene in which he is discovered to be held prisoner by Nessib and freed by Auda is memorable. In conclusion, this movies deserves a 7 out of 10, not a masterpiece, but certainly a good movie with minor flaws proving that you don't need a swarm of good looking stars and special effects to make a good movie.