Emir Nesib of Hobeika (Antonio Banderas) and Sultan Amar of Salma (Mark Strong) are rivals, and they have set aside The Yellow Belt between the two tribes as a no-man's land. Amar's two sons are taken by Nesib as hostages to keep the peace. When Texas oilmen finds oil in the Yellow Belt, Nesib uses the oil to modernize but Amar refuses to accept the violation of their peace treaty. Amar's son Prince Auda (Tahar Rahim) is caught in the middle trying to bring the opposite sides together. Freida Pinto also stars as Princess Leyla.
They are trying to bring a compelling piece of history to life. The time when Texas oilmen first meet the Arab world. They try to intermix some Hollywood melodrama with some more traditional Arab insights. It makes it feel like less authentic, but it does have some great adventures. There are no absolute bad or good from the two leaders as Auda tries to navigate both world. Nesib is trying to gain modernity for the good of his people. Amar sees the gold that comes from the oil as little value and mostly corrupting. I don't know if anything is truly resolved in the end with both sides of the argument undefeated. In fact, the death of Amar is a complete cop-out. It leaves a big question completely unanswered. I think there is a better movie to be made about that era.
They are trying to bring a compelling piece of history to life. The time when Texas oilmen first meet the Arab world. They try to intermix some Hollywood melodrama with some more traditional Arab insights. It makes it feel like less authentic, but it does have some great adventures. There are no absolute bad or good from the two leaders as Auda tries to navigate both world. Nesib is trying to gain modernity for the good of his people. Amar sees the gold that comes from the oil as little value and mostly corrupting. I don't know if anything is truly resolved in the end with both sides of the argument undefeated. In fact, the death of Amar is a complete cop-out. It leaves a big question completely unanswered. I think there is a better movie to be made about that era.