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Three Kings\u00a0<\/strong>is a war film taking place after the Persian Gulf War in the early to mid-\u201990s. Three soldiers are sent into territory run by Hussein and his men to retrieve stolen gold that belongs to Kuwait. This film is directed and written by the very talented David O. Russell (Director of \u201cThe Fighter\u201d, \u00a0\u201cSilver Linings Playbook\u201d and \u201cAmerican Hustle\u201d). This was produced by Bruce Berman (Producer of \u201cTraining Day\u201d).<\/p>\nI saw this film at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival for its 20th anniversary. This screening was followed by a Q&A with Director David O. Russell.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the mid-1990\u2019s in Iraq and 23 million dollars worth of gold has been stolen by Saddam Hussein from the country of Kuwait. Three men, Archie Gates (played by George Clooney), Troy Barlow (played by Mark Wahlberg) and Chief Elgin (played by Ice Cube) have been selected to go out on this mission to retrieve that gold.<\/p>\n
A prisoner is brought into their camp and whilst they are examining him they find a piece of paper in his butt. Upon examination of the document, they realize that it\u2019s a map revealing the location of a bunker in a nearby town.<\/p>\n
The three men and another soldier, Conrad Vig (played by Spike Jonze), travel to this town and scour the area for anything suspicious. They interrogate some soldiers and ask for the whereabouts of this bunker. They find out that it\u2019s in a well located in the middle of the town.<\/p>\n
When they force entry into this bunker Hussein\u2019s men fight back but the American soldiers come out victorious. They sift through the bunker and retrieve the stolen gold. When they are ready to leave with the gold they realize that the inhabitants of this town are no longer safe to live there after the attack, so they bring them along on the way back to the base.<\/p>\n
While they\u2019re traveling back they are ambushed by some of Hussein\u2019s men. After the attack, Barlow is kidnapped and the men must return to the town to get him back.<\/p>\n
This film was brilliantly written. Russell made this film knowing the impact it\u2019ll bring with it. This film definitely was relevant back when it was made and it has become relevant again with the current events going on at the border between the United States and Mexico.<\/p>\n
Russell said during the Q&A that this film was shown at the White House for President George W. Bush. He wanted this film to portray a message.<\/p>\n
The secret weapons for this project would definitely be Set Decorator Gene Serdena (Set Decorator for \u201cHer\u201d) and Production Designer Catherine Hardwicke (Production Designer for \u201cVanilla Sky\u201d). Together they were able to create an Iraqi town in the middle of an Arizonan desert. It looks like an actual Iraqi village.<\/p>\n
This film is also another example of David O. Russell\u2019s brilliant writing. He has such a witty way of writing something serious with a comical undertone to it.<\/p>\n
I am not personally a fan of war films but Russell is able to make this almost seem not like your average war film. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone studying film or screenwriting.<\/p>\n
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