YNOT at the Movies

I went to a pre-screening of "The Situation," which will open on March 30.

As far as I can remember, this is probably the first fiction drama set in Iraq during this on-going Iraq war. However, I probably get more out of a film if I watch a documentary about Iraq, in case I don't feel like I have seen enough already.

Anna Molyneux is an American journalist working in Iraq. One night, US soldiers threw two Iraq teenagers into a river after curfew causing one of them drowned. She begins to investigate this story. Meanwhile, her American intelligent officer boyfriend tries to push his big ideas into his operation. That of course goes no where. Not enough drama yet? What about let her get her feeling somewhat involved with an Iraq photographer journalist? Now we have a war time love triangle.

That probably sets the tone for this film to fail. I am so bored by the film. These characters are so weak and fake to me. When I look at the screen, they don't even look smart enough to convey some ideas about this war in Iraq or to make a political statement. The film lacks of intelligence.

The weirdest moment of the film is when Anna is having sex with her boyfriend in an Iraq hotel, when the gunfire sounds like popcorn outside the window. I wonder if that can be classified as kinky.

My rating: 3 out of 10.