*'May' Contain Spoilers*
I have to admit, I have not watched Lawrence of Arabia before watching this film. I speak for most people with great expectations – when I saw the trailer, I thought it will be mostly of action and thriller consisting most of an epic battle between Arabian tribes. I was wrong, but not entirely. The film offers me something different. It's best to not expect anything at all.
The first half of the movie drags on with little action but it does clearly explain to its audience the events that lead up to trouble – which is alright for people who are not very familiar of the Arabian ways. I thought it was getting weary and a little bit predictable so I started fidgeting on my seat, but I found out serves well as a foundation for the greater part to come. The second half undoubtedly kept me at the edge of my seat with unexpected events, humor, thrill of war and survival all slowly building up to an epic tale ...so to say this film is quite balanced with all its elements. An admiration and appreciation grew with the struggle and the conflicts in retaining traditional culture and introducing modernization faced by our characters, and it does lay out a lot of things for the audience to think about the motivations of using wealth of oil to lead the riches of these Arabian countries today, when they leave the cinema.
Tahir Rahim has served well as the main character Prince Auda, but his rise a leader was never fully realized by the audience. He was instead thought of as the normal humble quiet man with great ideas and moral, which rests a little bit uneasy with the leader archetype. However, there were references to the ways of Prophet Muhammad in a way that Auda was not aiming to be a hero or a leader, but rather a visionary. Pinto (Princess Leyla) fails expectations as she only plays the part of a loyal wife with a few cheesy lines and nothing more. Though I think it is important to realize that this is close to reality of the Arabian culture than most. One can't compare it to Prince of Persia and expect women to play a huge role in a fight because there's clearly a respected difference in the role of men in women in the Arabic culture that time. Having said that, I don't think Pinto has lived up to her potential, so her appearance in the film only serves as a name. I would also like to praise Riz Ahmed for his role as Ali – a humorous and lovable character despite his background as an outcast.
What I think of the movie? It's great. I really enjoyed it. It's even better if you have a good idea about the culture, traditions and a bit of understanding about the religion. If not, it definitely stirs up a great deal of curiosity. To me, the movie catches almost all of the Arabian essentials, not just about the oil discovery. It also creeps closer to the modern Arab reality rather than capturing a glossy fantastical events to please its audience, which I like. What I think is unbelievable however, is the budget they spent for this movie. It sure doesn't seem like it at all, but the enchantment does somehow work.
I have to admit, I have not watched Lawrence of Arabia before watching this film. I speak for most people with great expectations – when I saw the trailer, I thought it will be mostly of action and thriller consisting most of an epic battle between Arabian tribes. I was wrong, but not entirely. The film offers me something different. It's best to not expect anything at all.
The first half of the movie drags on with little action but it does clearly explain to its audience the events that lead up to trouble – which is alright for people who are not very familiar of the Arabian ways. I thought it was getting weary and a little bit predictable so I started fidgeting on my seat, but I found out serves well as a foundation for the greater part to come. The second half undoubtedly kept me at the edge of my seat with unexpected events, humor, thrill of war and survival all slowly building up to an epic tale ...so to say this film is quite balanced with all its elements. An admiration and appreciation grew with the struggle and the conflicts in retaining traditional culture and introducing modernization faced by our characters, and it does lay out a lot of things for the audience to think about the motivations of using wealth of oil to lead the riches of these Arabian countries today, when they leave the cinema.
Tahir Rahim has served well as the main character Prince Auda, but his rise a leader was never fully realized by the audience. He was instead thought of as the normal humble quiet man with great ideas and moral, which rests a little bit uneasy with the leader archetype. However, there were references to the ways of Prophet Muhammad in a way that Auda was not aiming to be a hero or a leader, but rather a visionary. Pinto (Princess Leyla) fails expectations as she only plays the part of a loyal wife with a few cheesy lines and nothing more. Though I think it is important to realize that this is close to reality of the Arabian culture than most. One can't compare it to Prince of Persia and expect women to play a huge role in a fight because there's clearly a respected difference in the role of men in women in the Arabic culture that time. Having said that, I don't think Pinto has lived up to her potential, so her appearance in the film only serves as a name. I would also like to praise Riz Ahmed for his role as Ali – a humorous and lovable character despite his background as an outcast.
What I think of the movie? It's great. I really enjoyed it. It's even better if you have a good idea about the culture, traditions and a bit of understanding about the religion. If not, it definitely stirs up a great deal of curiosity. To me, the movie catches almost all of the Arabian essentials, not just about the oil discovery. It also creeps closer to the modern Arab reality rather than capturing a glossy fantastical events to please its audience, which I like. What I think is unbelievable however, is the budget they spent for this movie. It sure doesn't seem like it at all, but the enchantment does somehow work.