POLLYWOOD | Hollywood on the Potomac

There might still be life left in the POLITICAL THRILLER
BY JANET DONOVAN

Janet Donovan

There was a time when political intrigue meant box office dollars. Over the past few years, however, it's been more akin to box office oblivion (unless it was a documentary by Michael Moore, of course).

Lead by Syriana and Munich, the trend could be reversing-although, studios are still working out the kinks after a self-imposed political hiatus.

SYRIANA

Making a point...? The plot: Syriana is director/writer Stephen Gaghan's (Traffic) mini-epic based on the global oil industry, flush with all the characters and subplots you would expect to find: shady deals, backroom shenanigans, questionable ethics ad characters caught up in the saga either knowingly or unwittingly. The dots have a wing span that spreads from Washington, D.C., to the Persian Gulf; from CIA agents to princes and clerics; and from innocent players to roughshod counterparts.

Like Traffic the film utilizes multiple plotlines in order to weave together a story that unfolds in nonlinear fashion. When WL asked Gaghan about the film, he commented: "When I screened the film in Washington, the former Ambassador to Israel under the Clinton administration-who also served as a high ranking NSC staffer-came up to me and said, ‘How did you figure out all of that? It's exactly right.' This is by far the most gratifying reaction I had, particularly after folks from the American Enterprise Institure had walked out fifteen minutes into the film-which I thought was indicative of this administration's policy of never wanting to hear bad news.The question I hope Syriana raises is whether or not we need limits on self interest."

At least Jeff Stein, U.S. National Security editor for Congressional Quarterly, and Spy Talk columnist, stayed for the whole film, but seemed perplexed: "It has important stuff going on in U.S. foreign policy: Big oil, blank-check U.S. support for the Saudi royal family, and some insight into how innocent kids become terroristist....but I personally think there is at least one sub-plot too many for the ordinary viewer. It's as hard to figure out as the CIA is."

MUNICH

Spielberg breaks the mold (again) as Bana sizzles Munich's cloak and dagger trip around the world in two hours and 44 minutes makes you wish you were on a night train to Disneyland. Director Steven Spielberg's attempt to reconcile the rebound effect of "violence begets violence, which begets violence," is often a befuddling and problematic take on the aftermath of the 1972 Olympic Massacre. In Washington, the premiere was held at The Ronald Reagan Building where red carpet sequins and stilettos were traded for brain food in the form of policy wonks and politicos. The hosts were Universal Pictures, Foreign Policy Magazine and The Woodrow Wilson Center for Public and International Affairs. Former White House Clinton Press Secretary Mike McCurry introduced the post-screening discussion with Ambassador Dennis Ross, producer Kathleen Kennedy and Anne-Marie Slaughter.

In a country which still celebrates the Easter bunny, this newly heightened awareness of world violence and vengeance in the wake of 9/11 makes for an oft-confusing and disturbing dialogue of the rights and wrongs of such actions. Munich producer Kennedy: "When 9/11 happened, Steven backed away from the project and said, "I don't think I can do this. I think it will be viewed as something that looks like it's exploiting the topic of terrorism," and we tabled the project for about eight or nine months. But we kept returning to it and talking about it quite frequently. We then realized that perhaps it was in fact exactly what we should be doing and was a story that needed to be told.

Dennis Ross: "My reaction to it in some ways is less about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and more about the larger context of dealing with terror."ABC Radio Network's Chris Berry: "It is very powerful and like any good story sometimes it "zigs" when you think it's going to "zag". In Munich's deadly game of hide and seek, the real heat was the smoking performance of Eric Bana.