Three Kings

Three Kings (1999)

by David O. Russel

Three Kings is set just after the conclusion of the Gulf War. A small group of American soldiers: Major Archie Gates (George Clooney), SFC Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg, Sgt Elgin (Ice Cube), and PFC Conrad Vig (Spike Jones) discover a secret Iraqi map hidden in a man’s anus -- not kidding. The map reveals the location of a bunker that contains Iraqi gold and other treasures taken from Kuwait. They set out to acquire the gold for themselves. They realize that the defeated Iraqi army is more focused on maltreating Iraqi citizens than in protecting “Saddam’s” gold. The civilians had been encouraged by U.S. forces, essentially the U.S. government, to oppose Sadaam Hussein and his forces. With the war over and Sadaam’s forces still in place, many of them face imprisonment and execution; The U.S. military has been ordered not to intervene. Suddenly these would be thieves obsessed with wealth find themselves amid a moral dilemma, do they enrich themselves and abandon the Iraqis their country encouraged? Or do they decide that saving innocent lives takes precedence over their own self interests?

The film was well received and proved to be one of Russel’s more successful undertakings, critically that is. Russel however has been said to be difficult to deal with, even getting into an altercation with star George Clooney. Clooney wasn’t his first choice for the role and the tension was obvious, accepting him only after his first choices Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Nicolas Cage, and Dustin Hoffman all turned down the part. The fight was allegedly over Russel’s abusive treatment of an extra. The Director also sought authenticity and had hired many advisors and extras in the film whom were actual refugee from Iraq. Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini, who plays an Iraqi defector who sells stolen cars from Kuwait Major gates, was in real life tortured and kicked in the eye by Saddam Hussein's security forces, blinding him in that eye.

Three Kings in the Iraqi Desert - Movie Review and Film Essay

                   By Theresa Ast

Ast touches down on themes prevalent in the film, namely propaganda, and Government tendencies to self-serve and do almost anything to reinforce or build its own power base.Through the use of media our Government seems to have veiled our eyes to the real reason behind our Iraq occupation: oil, essentially a Marxist view on Ast’s part. The torture scene even alludes to it as Troy Barlow is force fed a can of oil. She also touches upon a fact most seem to miss, Iraq soldiers received U.S. training from a previous administration, enabling them to invade Kuwait in the first place. In short she the film as politically motivated. Director David Russel often carries hidden messages in his films and often forgoes the traditional Romantic story lines; the film clearly transfers Russell's view of American history and political goals.

She does mention some visual techniques as well. The film is frenetic and striking. A special bleaching process to wash much of the color out of the frames was used; the desert sand appears almost white. Russel set out to make every shot feel important and he achieved his goal. One fire fight in particular slow down every shot as we witness every bullet fired from a weapon travel slowly as its target and its bloody sometimes morbid result. She saw the film as a “strong critique of the American government's use of its power and influence and a tongue-in-cheek love letter to the individualistic American soul and character.”

The article forced me to take a closer look at the characters and setting of the film, but more importantly the motivations for the story. We live in a balance of power world political system, where a countries supposed “fight for freedom and liberation” is often (and sadly) a cover for greater power-filled ambitions. Russel sought to deconstruct the motives for the Gulf War and our countries hand in causing it.

I also took a closer look at the decisions Russel made in order to convey his message, in terms of story, cinematography and directing. He doesn’t just beat you over the head with anti-American sentiment, but includes a story of redemption among the three men at the heart of it all.   

  I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

For a time Russel was shunned in Hollywood and it was difficult for him to get his films made, some cite his actions as the result of a messy divorce. The prolific director turned his reputation around and has recently become a man everyone wants to work with. His recent efforts have become Academy Award gold, with such critically acclaimed works like The Fighter, The Silver Linings Play Book, and more recently American Hustle. He has managed to turn his reputation as a demanding director into the man all actors want to work alongside. In Hollywood your only as good as your last success, rather than let a negative stigma hinder his work he has kept at it and managed to produce some contemporary classics over the past several years, often by making movies that don’t fit into a common mold, but rather films that resonate with him; confident that audiences will embrace it. Three Kings is a wonderful example of his unique directing style at work, despite hardships during filming.

The film examines what people will choose to do when driven by greed, a need for security, or a need to enrich and correct injustice. While it does have heavy themes surrounding politics it is still character driven and can appeal to all audiences. There is something for the politically minded to appreciate but also the common movie goer. The characters make that inevitable character arc where their initial greed and selfish motivations give way to altruism and genuine concern for these refugees. Three Kings is a delightful film that should be given a closer look by any film fanatic.


Plagiarism Statement:  Attach this to the end of every journal assignment.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (x  ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Benjamin F. M. Novoa   Date: 4/28/2014