Day of the Falcon

*'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.

great

source: Day of the Falcon

What's awful about this movie is the writing and some of the acting. With the well known leads this movie had i would have thought the script would have been better. But it was lack luster and at times B-movieish. Maybe for an independent, low budget, no name film, I could understand the rush of dialogue and the gloss over of these characters. I would have preferred an in-depth understanding of them. More "game of thrones" style set in the Arabian desert. From the trailers I saw, I assumed it would be better. But this is definitely NOT that! Then half-way through the film the action sequences start. While the tactics are fun to watch, it's all rushed and hurried, with little thought to if scenes make plausible sense or not. By 3/4's of the way thru the film its back to being a B-movie. Something to laugh at more then take seriously. You want this film to be good, but it just isn't.

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

The script is like a bad Disney production with cartoon largely inaccurate versions of Arabic Muslim culture and the history it is supposed to represent (history of arabian peninsula during 20s and 30s). It is a formula imbecilic action/war movie basically a paint by numbers picture designed to beguile stupid audiences. At 55 million what a waste of money.... I hope they actually didn't kill any camels or other animals to make this trash. Some of the actors aren't bad but the SCRIPT! However what is with the accents? I thought it was dubbed for the first 15 minutes--still not positive it wasn't! I went to school with Tarak Ben Ammar the producer in Tunis. He would know better about the script's authenticity....it is simply some cynical attempt to make money. I didn't find the production values that good frankly it is almost B quality with a few hundred extras and some digital wizardry....I doubt the 55 million some of it must have gone into various pockets. DO NOT RECOMMEND

The title of this film misleadingly gives the impression that it is going to be about oil. It is not. Even though it is set against the background of the Arab nations as emerging gold producers, it is actually about resistance to, and embracing of, change, as embodied in the leadership of two tribes at odds over an area of oil bearing land, and the son of one of the leaders who is caught up in the middle. Prince Auda (Tahar Rahim) is the son of Sultan Amar (Mark Strong), but has been brought up as a hostage in the household of more powerful rival Emir Nesib (Antonio Banderas) and, having reached adulthood, has married Nesib's daughter Leyla (Freida Pinto). Returning to his father after 15 years, he sees an opportunity to bring an end to the conflict between the two tribes: old-school Amar wants the oil wells to be shut down, materialistic Nesib likes money. However, it proves difficult to avert conflict, and Auda's tactical march across the desert leading a band of convicts disguised as soldiers proves to be eventful. This Arab-financed movie is tricky to sum up. It is a sprawling epic, with some stunning visuals of desert and battles, but it never really captures a sense of grandeur or significance. It addresses the difference between traditionalists and modernisers (and, more pertinently, those who twist the Koran to mean what they want it to mean and those who try for a more straightforward interpretation), but comes to no conclusion - but then, how could it? And it contains a mish-mash of performances. Rahim's Auda is engaging, but does not command the screen. Strong's Amar is the most convincing character, mixing dignity, strength, responsibility, traditionalism and love together with the necessary hardness of someone in his position. Banderas, hugely amusing, plays Nesib as a pantomime villain: if he had moustachios, he would twirl them. Pinto is hardly in it, apart from a gratuitous sex scene. By far the most entertaining turn comes from Riz Ahmed as Auda's half brother Ali. This film holds the attention throughout its 130 minutes, but doesn't leave much of a mark afterwards.

*'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.

Black Gold – TRASH IT (C-) Black Gold seems like an ambiguous French/Arabian project but sadly the ambitions for only in spending around $55 Millions. The production value of the movie was great but the direction, execution and mediocre performances made it intolerable for me to sit through. Initial 30 minutes are watchable but after that movie becomes tedious. The performances by Antonia Banderas, Mark Strong, Frieda Pinto and Tahar Rahim are alright. Riz Ahmed's overacting cannot be ignored he needed to tone down a little. In the end, Black Gold is way too loud and intolerable to seat through 2hours. The story had potential but bad direction tanked the whole concept of wars on Black Gold.

Gave up within a half hour. Too boring for words. I mean literally. Instead I am just going to talk about sausages for the rest of this review. I like to eat sausages. Sausages are sausages and taste like sausages. They are made of sausage. This here is more interesting than this film. I could honestly just read the word sausage two thousand times off a huge scroll and be more entertained than I was by this film. The film would have been better if rather than drilling for oil they had simply drilled for sausages. Granted it might not be the most believable film but when something is this boring I hardly think it matters. In short: boring film, lacked sausages.