Of course, this question is not true, because under the Arabian desert, black gold is everywhere. The steady flow of oil has changed the face of Arabia. In the vast majority of oil-producing countries in the Arab region, black gold has enriched this unusually barren land. In the past, although a splendid civilization had been produced here, before the discovery of oil, the impression left to people was just a business traveler riding a camel, walking through the yellow sand.
The film "Black Gold" co-produced by Qatar and France and other countries, in the middle of the vast Arabian desert, fictionalized the war between two tribal countries, telling a story with a strong background of the times, showing the rise of Arab countries due to oil History. As for which country the movie simulates, it's hard to tell. Maybe it's the common modern history of the Middle East oil countries. They are prosperous because of oil, and step by step from the tribe to the modern, there is constant friction and compromise between tradition, religion and modern civilization. In fact, this is also the history of the entire human development, but just like the Middle East oil countries in the movie, the time is shorter and more dramatic.
I have to say, this movie was very enjoyable to watch. In addition to the historical background mentioned above, it also has all the elements of a good movie. War, love, conspiracy, court, colorful exoticism, continuous conflict, and a lot of suspense are enough to whet people's appetite. The vast and charming desert scenery, the fresh and bizarre colors, the grand scene of the army rushing, and the primitive and modern fighting and fighting, all grab the audience's attention. Like "The Birth of a Nation", it is epic and controversial, and like "Lawrence of Arabia", it is gorgeous and exciting.
Although it is the 1930s, the two Arab tribal countries in the film are equally poor and behind the times. They fought for the land in the desert "Yellow Zone". This is a primitive war between tribes, just like the wars of the past thousand years, relying on horses and cold weapons, you can rush us, and there will be winners and losers. This time, neither of the two tribal countries took much advantage, and the ownership of the Imperial Yellow Belt has not yet been resolved. Of course, for the two sides, it doesn't matter whether this place is in dispute. Except for the vast yellow sand, there is no grass here. It's just that the loser of the war has to send his son to the other country as a hostage, thus starting the story of this film.
In fact, the thinking of both sides of the war at the beginning of the film has already heralded the future development. The king of the victorious side is full of yearning for the civilization outside, and he is not satisfied with the current status quo. When he heard that London had solved the problem of cholera as early as a hundred years ago, he asked his subordinates seriously, is there a hundred year gap between his country and the West? When he heard that the gap would last for a thousand years, he asked his son, would he be willing to rule such a wild land? The defeated king, on the other hand, stuck to tradition and believed in the power of faith and morality.
When two Americans landed in the desert in a plane and told the King Nasapi that there was oil, Nasabi immediately foresaw an opportunity for him and his country. He actively cooperated with American companies to extract oil, and turned the endless black gold under the desert into inexhaustible wealth to realize his dream of modernization. He used the money he made to buy the most advanced weapons to modernize his army; he built Western-style schools and a large library in the capital, which made the film's protagonist, the prince of a hostile country, become The beneficiaries; he also used the money to buy some fresh Western gadgets such as watches, to win over the chiefs of the southern tribes... Nasabi is like an enlightened monarch who works hard.
In contrast, King Ali on the other side adhered to tradition and indulged in ancient classics. He lost the original war and had to send his two sons to the country of Nasabi. But he still does not think that he is defeated by backwardness, and still sticks to the life of sunrise and sunset, reciting scriptures and reading scriptures, just like their ancestors. He is adamantly opposed to exploiting the oil in the Yellow Belt, arguing that it goes against the will of Allah and will allow Western culture to erode their civilization. In his country, in stark contrast to Nasabi's country, people are still poor and conservative, and religion and morality are still the masters of life. In the movie, Ali is a traditional monarch with forbearance and high morality.
The protagonist Oda is involved in two opposing forces. The youngest son of a traditional king, he was raised as a hostage in the palace of King Nasabi, and married the king's favorite daughter. He looks dull and lacks the heroic spirit of his brother who is also a hostage. He naturally hates war and likes peace, but he is also smart and eager to learn and loves to read. Not only familiar with the various classics of Islam, but also read Western writings. Although he lives in a relatively civilized country, he always sits in the library, isolated from the outside world. However, history has given him a heavy responsibility, allowing him to change the social and political ecology of this desert. A scholar with little power, and finally became the king of the desert. knowledge is power. Through Oda's actions, the film tells people that the reason why Oda wins is the knowledge he has acquired in the past. Here, the emphasis on knowledge means the abandonment of the tribal worship of force.
The film is actually a modern fable about the Middle East, and Prince Oda represents the confusion of the Middle Eastern tribe. He is in the middle-eastern ethnic group that is going from ancient to modern. On the one hand, he cherishes tradition and is confused about the prospect of tradition; on the other hand, he has both longing for modern civilization and deep suspicion. meaning. This is natural, this is the mentality of most peoples facing modern times. They are afraid of foreign civilizations, destroying the existing order and destroying the traditions of their ancestors. Therefore, they faced the knocking on the door of the foreign civilization, which they welcomed like King Nasabi and resisted like King Ali. Welcome because of the temptation of practical benefits, and resistance because of fear of existing losses.
The director of the film is also torn between the two. From a historical point of view, it is inevitable to enter modern civilization, and any civilization must take this step sooner or later. However, foreign civilizations will inevitably have an impact on traditional culture, and the interests of the entire society will inevitably be redistributed, which is what many vested interests in traditional societies do not want to see. Therefore, the film defines the character of the welcome Nasabi as being greedy for profit and military, while the resister Ali is portrayed as an ascetic who is willing to abide by poverty and morality. However, neither of them is a winner. In the eyes of the director, neither of them is the direction of the Middle Eastern ethnic group, and they should be abandoned by history. Although the movie gives Ali more sympathy, Ali still dies, and Nasabi is defeated by Oda and can only leave the country.
In Oda, the director gave him more characteristics. He has the advantages of both his biological father and his father-in-law, and grew up in two different cultural ecosystems. He not only inherits his biological father's pacifist and kind personality, but also has his father-in-law's mentality of being good at calculating and open to foreign things. He is faithful to tradition and religious, but at the same time does not exclude all knowledge, and can see the trend of history. So he fled back to his home country, helped his biological father defeat his powerful father-in-law, and in fact inherited his father-in-law's career, leading the two countries to modernity. The country he leads is obviously different from the country of Ali and Nasabi. It is a country that abandons past traditions, has religious beliefs, and is open to foreign civilizations.
Oda's success in the film also stems from his open mind, not only a kind of bravery not afraid of foreign things, but also a kind of confidence in his own civilization. This mentality allows him to absorb everything that is useful to him, and it also allows him to dare to give up traditions that are out of date, so that he can gain a foothold in modern society.
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