I saw The Situation at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago yesterday and I thought that the film was excellent; it's very tense and really keeps you on the edge of your seat. When it is all over all you can think about is "what a mess" and feel glad that you are not in Iraq and wonder what motivates someone who doesn't have to be there to go there voluntarily - like Anna the news reporter very well portrayed by Connie Nielsen.
The film is critical of US government policy in Iraq but not critical of most of the Americans working there who are struggling to make sense of the confusion and craziness of the situation. In fact you feel a lot of sympathy for Dan Murphy, the CIA agent excellently played by Damian Lewis , because he is trying to do some good and gain credibility for US policies in the midst of corruption, confusion, and desperation. The film is definitely NOT critical of the soldiers who are getting shot at and who are just trying to follow orders and stay alive. As the Colonel well-played by John Slattery says "I'm a just soldier, I don't understand all this, just give me some sh*t to blow up!"
It shows the situation in Iraq from lots of different human viewpoints. The former Iraqi official (Mohamed El Lozy) who hates the Kurds currently in power and who gives intelligence to the CIA in exchange for favors. All he wants to do is stay alive and get his family safely out of the country but his wife and son despise him for his weakness (and he despises himself for "selling his soul".)
Zaid, the photographer (Mido Hamada) who works with Anna is an Iraqi from a Christian family and his parents were killed by Saddam. He has never been outside of Iraq and he wants to see snow and someplace with "no ruins, everything standing up!" Zaid's grandmother says that they didn't think things could get worse than they were under Saddam but they are worse now.
Sometimes the Americans are shown despising the locals and we see the locals hating and denigrating the Americans but both groups act despicable and hateful at times - and sometimes they act honorable and fair. We see the resentment of the locals because they are sitting on top of the world's largest oil deposits and yet they have no gas or electricity and little food everything is black market and everyday there are murders and kidnappings.
The Americans are trying to establish order and put Iraqi officials in power so they can leave the country, but the Iraqi police are more like a violent gang focused on greed and personal power and there is no order. The insurgents are ruthless and violent (and support Saddam's policies because they hate the other fractions) but at least they are not motivated by greed.
Nothing is what it seems and "there is no truth" as Dan says. I won't spoil it but the resolution of the film's two big questions are not what you expect was Rafeeq (Anna and Dan's friend and informant) killed because he talked to the Americans? And will the senseless (irresponsible but unintentional) death of the teen-aged boy during the bridge incident go unpunished because he is just another dead Iraqi?
The film is very well made, the cast is excellent and it is great that local characters are portrayed by Arab actors. It is also great that all the members of the large ensemble cast members get a lot of on screen time. It's hard to believe that the budget for the entire film was only $1 million - it's a big movie.
I highly recommend the film, it makes you think and question common beliefs. It is the kind of film that stays with you for a long time.
The film is critical of US government policy in Iraq but not critical of most of the Americans working there who are struggling to make sense of the confusion and craziness of the situation. In fact you feel a lot of sympathy for Dan Murphy, the CIA agent excellently played by Damian Lewis , because he is trying to do some good and gain credibility for US policies in the midst of corruption, confusion, and desperation. The film is definitely NOT critical of the soldiers who are getting shot at and who are just trying to follow orders and stay alive. As the Colonel well-played by John Slattery says "I'm a just soldier, I don't understand all this, just give me some sh*t to blow up!"
It shows the situation in Iraq from lots of different human viewpoints. The former Iraqi official (Mohamed El Lozy) who hates the Kurds currently in power and who gives intelligence to the CIA in exchange for favors. All he wants to do is stay alive and get his family safely out of the country but his wife and son despise him for his weakness (and he despises himself for "selling his soul".)
Zaid, the photographer (Mido Hamada) who works with Anna is an Iraqi from a Christian family and his parents were killed by Saddam. He has never been outside of Iraq and he wants to see snow and someplace with "no ruins, everything standing up!" Zaid's grandmother says that they didn't think things could get worse than they were under Saddam but they are worse now.
Sometimes the Americans are shown despising the locals and we see the locals hating and denigrating the Americans but both groups act despicable and hateful at times - and sometimes they act honorable and fair. We see the resentment of the locals because they are sitting on top of the world's largest oil deposits and yet they have no gas or electricity and little food everything is black market and everyday there are murders and kidnappings.
The Americans are trying to establish order and put Iraqi officials in power so they can leave the country, but the Iraqi police are more like a violent gang focused on greed and personal power and there is no order. The insurgents are ruthless and violent (and support Saddam's policies because they hate the other fractions) but at least they are not motivated by greed.
Nothing is what it seems and "there is no truth" as Dan says. I won't spoil it but the resolution of the film's two big questions are not what you expect was Rafeeq (Anna and Dan's friend and informant) killed because he talked to the Americans? And will the senseless (irresponsible but unintentional) death of the teen-aged boy during the bridge incident go unpunished because he is just another dead Iraqi?
The film is very well made, the cast is excellent and it is great that local characters are portrayed by Arab actors. It is also great that all the members of the large ensemble cast members get a lot of on screen time. It's hard to believe that the budget for the entire film was only $1 million - it's a big movie.
I highly recommend the film, it makes you think and question common beliefs. It is the kind of film that stays with you for a long time.