Lord of War
2005 · Directed by Andrew Niccol
Original language: English
- crime
- drama
- thriller
The story
Yuri Orlov is a globetrotting arms dealer and, through some of the deadliest war zones, he struggles to stay one step ahead of a relentless Interpol agent, his business rivals and even some of his customers who include many of the world's most notorious dictators. Finally, he must also face his own conscience.
What it’s like
Lord of War moves with a restless, sun-scorched energy, its handheld and roving camera lurching through African dust, Brooklyn tenements, and glossy European hotel suites with equal restlessness. Its palette shifts hard between the washed-out ochre of war zones, cold blue fluorescents in airport terminals and warehouses, and the warm amber of luxury interiors, and a narrator's voiceover keeps the tone dry and sardonic. Gunfire, car bombs and battlefield carnage arrive suddenly and sometimes graphically, though the film is more caustic than gory, and its drug use and sexual content are brief but present. The score is driven by jabbing percussion and bursts of rock, so the mood never settles for long. Its central figure is a cynical, self-justifying man slowly confronted by his own complicity, with the emotional weight landing on his strained family life and a conscience he cannot quite silence. It suits a late-night watch for people who want a biting, darkly comic satire of global commerce and power, and it is not a gentle choice.
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