DAY OF THE FALCON: OIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST

While most of us are quite aware of the fact that the main source of oil these days comes from the Middle East most of us have no idea how it came to be discovered there or what brought about a change that allowed the oil to flow to the rest of the world. Many of the answers to these questions can be found in the new DVD release DAY OF THE FALCON.

The film opens with two warring leaders coming to terms with their boundaries. Sultan Amar (Mark Strong) is the more traditional of the two, following the guidelines of his religion as much as possible. Emir Nesib (Antonio Banderas) is a more forward thinking ruler wishing more for his people. The two agree to keep the Yellow Belt, the land between their two countries, as neutral territories. To seal the deal Amar's sons will go with Nesib and be raised as his own to insure the peace.

Fifteen years pass and the peace holds until the day a Texas oil company official approaches Nesib. He tells him there is oil in the Yellow Belt. Nesib has always thought of himself as a ruler who has nothing and no way to provide for his people in a desert covered land. He sees this as an opportunity to grow incredible wealth and in return advance his people by building schools, hospitals and more. The only problem is that in mining these oil fields he has broken the peace agreement and the possibility of war opens once again.

When one of the two princes held as hostage for the peace is killed, his brother Prince Auda (Tahar Rahim) sets out to set things straight. What follows is his adventure in both worlds as he tries to find a compromise that will settle old scores, revenge the deaths in his family and create a world that will have both peace and prosperity.

The beginning of the film sets the stage for what follows so if you find it a bit tedious give it some time. Once Auda heads out to fulfill his destiny things begin to pick up and the action flows with the story rather than the story around it. The role of Nesib seems like a beneficent father figure for his people but of course too much power seems to lead to corruption and poor decision making.  The clash of cultures attempts to explain how things have turned out and in some ways does so, in others not so much.

The end result is an entertaining and informative film. In looking deeper you may find that the story has been tweaked a bit here and there to make it more film worth, but the gist of the story remains. While not quite LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, the film is worth watching.

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