The Kingdom comes at us as yet another film set in the Middle East, this time in Saudi Arabia. I am fascinated with this region of the world for all kinds of reasons, so I am very excited about all these new movies. It stars Jamie (I'm the man) Foxx, Jennifer (I can't act) Garner, Jason (I suck when I'm not on Arrested Development) Bateman, and Chris (possibly the second greatest living actor) Cooper. This makes up a special unit of the F.B.I. that manipulates its way into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to investigate a terrorist hit on a Western oil compound in Riyaud.The opening sequence to the film is great, with a boatload of information on the history of Saudi Arabia and its connection to the U.S. Very interesting and well done. After the intro, the film goes on a terrorist hunt.
The Feds quickly run into the cultural differences between a democracy and a Muslim theocracy (especially in regards to the treatment of women). Also, the politics are quite intriguing. We want to go over there to catch the bad guys, and we are good at what we do. They see that as an insult to their competency. Plus, Westerners in Arab lands always spells trouble. It would be a disaster for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia if one of our elite agents were caught, killed, etc. Thus, the Feds are restricted at every turn by the Saudi government.
The most interesting aspect of the film comes in the form of Colonel Faris Al Ghazi, a Saudi police officer charged with watching the Americans. He is a Muslim, but sees the error of Fundamentalism, and wishes to catch the terrorists as bad as the Americans. He is criticized heavily by all for seeming to side with the West, a heinous crime in Arab countries. It is good to see Hollywood putting human faces on Arabs, giving them thoughts and feelings. Helping us to see them as people. But at the same time, the Kingdom does a great job of reminding us that there still are terrorists who believe that Allah desires horrendous violence. Not all Arabs are the same, and we cannot become prejudiced.
The Kingdom is brutal in its depiction of terrorism, as well it should be. The film is intense and exciting. Yet it rarely goes beyond a well-done action flick. It is set in the middle-east, but does not delve into the issues as deeply as other great films (such as Munich, Syriana, Paradise Now or even Black Hawk Down). The final line of the film does provide a great picture to ponder though, and seems to sum up the entire problem of these conflicts. I don't believe this is a spoiler, because I am not giving away any plot points, but feel free to stop reading if you prefer. In the end, we see Foxx's character, Fleury, say that before going over to S.A. he told Garner's character that they would "kill them all." And that is exactly the same thing the terrorist mastermind whispered to his grandson. That is a powerful statement, and it reminds us that both sides are "right and holy" in their own eyes. The myth of redemptive violence plays out over and over and over again, with no true redemption in sight.
2 comments:
Mr O!,
Firstly, this is Sass. So I saw this movie Friday night with about twenty other people from school. It was also interesting because in the theater with us was a Muslim family (well, not family I guess, it was a man and his wife). That was interesting to me because if a group of Muslims made a feature film about Americans or even Christians I'd be there to see it. I think I agree with you on everything you had to say about the movie. I loved the opening that explained the background that the Saudis have with America. I honestly didn't know much about that. Many of my friends that the movie was anti-Muslim but I didn't see it because of the balance that Faris brought to the picture. It showed the goods and the bads of American government, and the goods and the bads of Muslim ruling. I think that, like you said, it was a good action film. I needed to be too. But I did wish there would have been a bit more depth with it. But I thought it was a great film and really well done. So you pretty much said all of that already, but I wanted to talk about with movie with someone because a lot of people here don't like to discuss. The end.
~Sass
Sweet Sass. Please, contribute to the discussion here on this site. I always appreciate your input. You have good insights.
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