Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: David O. Russell
Written by: David O. Russell (story by John Ridley)
Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Nora Dunn
Produced by: Paul Junger Witt, Charles Roven

The Nutshell

Four soldiers out to find some Kuwaiti gold instead find a tragedy in a small Iraqi town.

The Review

    Every adult in the Western world remembers Operation Desert Storm.  President George Bush stood up to Saddam Hussein and kicked his butt. Kuwait was liberated, and the world became familiar with the name and visage of a new dictator. The television media did a fairly decent job of covering certain aspects of the post-war fallout, especially the ecological damage done to the Middle East. What they didn’t cover, and what the main national newspapers failed to give proper attention to, was the real reason for the war: oil. It can be hard to swallow, but the main reason that we all went to war against Iraq was to protect our supply of oil. Granted, Kuwait was invaded, and their people were oppressed, but at any given moment on Earth, there are over 10 wars going on. Currently, Ethiopia and Eritrea are at war but the average North American doesn’t even know that. Why? Because it isn’t sensational news; there is nothing to be gained by the U.S. military stepping in, and American lives’ at risk. Thus, the media doesn’t even mention it to us. Kuwait is a provider of oil, and had Iraq taken control of its production, the price we pay for oil and oil-related products could have easily skyrocketed. Thus, George Bush rallied everyone to the cries of Freedom, and End The Oppression, and went in after Saddam. This is a fact, and it is a genuine tragedy that the average human accepts the spin that the news media places on everything. It is in my view, one of the greater tragedies of my lifetime.

 I apologize for my ranting, but it is crucial to understand the bravery and heart of Three Kings, the amazing new film by David O. Russell. Mr. Russell has tackled the reality stated above head on, creating a war film that should hopefully remove any patriotism people have over Desert Storm. The film’s four main characters, soldiers who don’t know or care why they are fighting Saddam Hussein, go through a major metamorphosis as they slowly come to understand what their show of force has really done to the people of Iraq; starting out as greedy, uncaring treasure-hunters, the four find themselves face-to-face with the tragic outcome of the war’s cease-fire.

 Having found a map stuck in the buttocks of an Iraqi prisoner which they believe shows the location of Kuwaiti bullion, the four decide to sneak into the town of Carbala, take the gold, and be back at base before noon. Once in the town, they find an intriguing situation. Iraqi troops hold rebels captive, yet grudgingly allow the Americans to take the gold. They begin to head away with their prize when the town’s problem hits them; President Bush told the Iraqi people to rise up against Saddam, but when he signed the cease-fire, basically abandoned those rebels to the Iraqi militia’s “care”. The four realize the problem at different rates, but when the Iraqis take violent steps to quell the rebels’ cries for help, they take action. What follows leads to much bloodshed, the awakening of the four’s minds to the bogus propaganda that their own leaders had fed them, and the resolve to try to make things right, if only for this one town.

 The four troops are Archie Gates (Clooney), Troy Barlow (Wahlberg), Chief Elgin (Cube), and Vig (Jonze). Due to retire in two weeks, Gates cares little for his position in the Special Forces. He just wants to go home, and when the chance to finance the rest of his life, he grabs it. Barlow and Elgin are members of the reserves, and see the gold as a way to leave their day jobs. Vig, a bit of a simpleton,  reveres Barlow and would never have been allowed to come if he hadn’t found the map.

 David O. Russell has merged war, drama, and comedy in a near-perfect blend. Opening immediately after the cease-fire has been signed, the troops are jubilant and overly excited. With reporters on hand to film the surrender of the Iraqis, the Americans merrily get drunk and sing patriotic songs. The scenes are amusing in a testosterone-packed, men-with-their-guns kind of way. Even the few early moments of violence are given a humourous glare, as in one instance when a soldier, recounting the tale of how his friend shot an Iraqi in the neck, blew his head clean off. The brief flashback to the moment shows the man’s head blow a good ten feet straight up in the air in a ridiculous fashion, causing the viewer to chuckle at something that normally isn’t funny at all. The tone changes quickly as the four enter the town of Carbala, ripping the viewer out of the gentle lull he was placed in by the film’s laid-back beginning. While there are a few laughs later in the film, they are ill-timed, and one of the film’s few minor flaws. Specifically, a sub-plot involving Adrianna Cruz (Dunn), a reporter looking for the story, and who is in pursuit of Gates, is too light and often too far removes the viewer from the main action. Her role is also, paradoxically, underwritten; she plays a crucial part in the denouement which does not have the necessary screen time to back it up.

 Various special effects add to, and take away from the film’s impact. One amusing trick is to visually show in clinical detail what happens when a bullet passes through guts. While original, it is a bit too stylish and hip for a film that for the most part shot in grainy, colour-bleached desert white. The story, also by David O. Russell, and character development are intelligent and realistic. With the exception of Saddam Hussein, who does not make a personal appearance, no one character is black or white, but rather varying shades of gray. While Gates and the others go from corrupt to heroic, it’s the Iraqi people who are the most interesting. One man in particular, an Iraqi soldier whose wife and son were killed by American bombs, is a tragic figure. Robbed of everything by Americans, is he right in fighting for Saddam? Or is he just an evil man with an unfortunate past? When a film makes the viewer confused over whether the bad guys are truly bad, it is impressive.

 While the actual war footage is brief in comparison to the naval landing in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, Three Kings impact is just as great. Spielberg’s epic doesn’t deal with corrupt reasons for starting a war, because World War II truly was a noble war. The stopping of the Holocaust far out-weighs any other reasons the Americans might have had to enter the war, thus while Private Ryan brought the reality of war to the viewer, its story was weak and almost besides the point. In Three Kings, not only is the tragedy of war itself brought to life on the screen, but the unbelievable propaganda campaign that the U.S. government used on its people is revealed in all its false, insulting corruption. The characters realize the gravity of the problems Bush caused a bit before we the viewers do. It is only by the time that the credits roll, and perhaps a couple hours of discussion later, that we realize just what we did to the innocent people of Iraq. Three Kings is a triumph, and I salute David O. Russell for having the bravery to criticize America's foreign policy so openly.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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