THE KINGDOM
US, 2007, 109 minutes, Colour.
Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman, Jeremy Pivan, Richard Jenkins, Kyle Chandler, Frances Fisher, Danny Huston.
Directed by Peter Berg.
The pre-credits sequence is very interesting in itself. It traces the 20th century history of Saudi Arabia (The Kingdom), especially in terms of its relationship with the US and its oil power. Then there is an expertly staged, if quite ghastly, attack on the American compound in Ryadh, first shooters, then a tremendous explosion. Many are killed.
Move then to the US with experts on Capitol Hill debating the response: the hawks eager to take action, the doves reminding hawks about diplomacy and national sensibilities. However, a team of FBI investigators is able to arrange an entry, though they are hampered by protocols and permissions at first, finally persuading one of the many princes to support their search for evidence and gain some police collaboration. They bring some American know-how but also a great deal of American superiority attitude which means they need a little sensitivity and inculturation.
So far, so good – with Arizona and Abu Dabi locations standing in for the Kingdom. The investigation is interesting. But, when they find the suspects, as they say, all hell breaks loose. It seems the film implodes in its shift from intelligent drama to an all-out action show, lots of chases, explosions, shooting, the abduction of one of the team, the breakthrough in discovering the perpetrators and general confusion and mayhem.
The makers have opted for action for the multiplex rather than stay with the politics, diplomacy and intrigue of a film like Syriana.
Much is made of Jamie Foxx’s character as a loving father and children are a motif throughout the film, including offering the key evidence for the climax. Other team members are the tough older hands-on-and- get-dirty expert, Chris Cooper, wisecracking Jason Bateman and, for glamour, Jennifer Garner. Ashraf Barhom (an Israeli actor) is particularly sympathetic as the Saudi police liaison.
The final lines of the film bring us back to the harsh realities of extremists, whether they be terrorists or US officials.
1.A topical film? The Arab world? The United States? Oil, relationships, the Kingdom? The post-2001 world? The background of the Iraq war?
2.The locations, the Arizona desert, Abu Dabi standing in for Riyadh? The musical score?
3.The title, Saudi Arabia, the prologue and the outline of its history in itself, its place in the world, oil, the relationship with the United States, Islamic beliefs, practice? Terrorism? Osama bin Laden?
4.The introduction, the city of Riyadh, the vistas, the American compound, the softball game, the Saudi police? The attack, the massacre, people and their running away, the deaths? The final explosion? The huge death toll?
5.The verandah, the group watching, their talk, making the video, the young man and the camera? The later identification of where the film was taken? The building? Tracking down the perpetrators?
6.Washington DC, Ronald Fleury in the class, talking, his son, the news, called out? The government meetings? The attorney-general, the FBI chief? The officials, the meeting, the discussions, the different attitude of the Hawks and the Doves, diplomacy?
7.Fleury and his team, Sykes, Janet Mayes, Adam Leavitt? Their working together? Their personalities? The plan, Fleury going to the journalist, getting information, working the favour, the emotional and political blackmail, flying out to Saudi Arabia?
8.Saudi Arabia, the authorities, the suspects, policeman taken and tortured and interrogated, the officer in charge? The protocols, diplomacy?
9.The arrival of the team, their American presumptions, wanting to go to the site, the various skills that they brought? The restrictions? Their reaction? Going to the prince, getting the permits? Their language, the Saudi officer and his asking them to restrain, to be modest? The insults?
10.The forensic investigation, the detail? Each member of the team and their skills? Sykes, practical, going into the pool, the discovery of the ambulance? Fleury and his contacts? Janet and the clinical aspects? The bodies?
11.The officer in charge, his dealing with the Americans, his task, loyalties, difficulties? Going to the prince? Getting the go-ahead?
12.Fleury and the interviews with the Americans, the situations, their fears, hatred for the Arabs?
13.The information about the perpetrators, the film, working out where the balcony was, the evidence?
14.The visit to the building, the chase throughout the streets? The family, the old man, the tension, the little girl and the gift, realising that this was the material for the explosives? The shootings? The information about bomb-makers and their injured fingers? The flashbacks to the bomb-making?
15.The abduction of Leavitt, his previous wisecracks, his humiliation, the preparation of the video?
16.The film moving into fight, shoot-em-up? The death of the sympathetic Arab? His family?
17.The achievement of the team? The return to the United States? The role of the United States – destiny, domination, respect for other cultures?
18.The ironic ending: the whispering of the old man before he died that they would all die? Asking Fleury what his word to comfort Janet was at the meeting: that they would all die?
