Black Gold (2012)

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Set in the 1930s, just as oil is discovered in the Arab states, and in particular The Yellow Belt, an area under contention, two tribes – one headed up by Mark Strong's traditional Sultan Amar, the other by Antonio Banderas' progressive Emir Nesib – are engaged in an uneasy truce. To ensure Amar won't attack Nesib's kingdom again, the truce entails the insurance of the Yellow Belt as a buffer zone and Nesib's 'adoption' Amar's young sons. When Nesib gives Texan Oil the nod to start drilling in the Belt years later, it violates the treaty and war is declared once more. However, which side will Amar's son Auda (Rahim) be on?

Black Gold has all the hallmarks of epic movies of old. In a story that spans decades, the drama serves up two families at war, including star-crossed lovers (Rahim's marriage to Nesib's daughter Leyla (Pinto) becomes a sticking point when war resumes), and a war that will come to define a region forever, the grand, sweeping shots, and the ass-numbing running time - it's all here. Great stuff. Things were shaky to begin with, though. The dialogue in the opening half can be dreadful at times, with characters explaining at length what everyone is doing and why, but once Black Gold is happy its set everything up and everyone is on board it grows in confidence and becomes the film it wants to be… and that's to be the new Lawrence Of Arabia.

Although it can be accused of wanting to be Lawrence... a little too hard (and there's no harm in working that hard), where Annaud and writers Menno Meyjis and Alain Godard make proceedings look effortless is Rahim's transition from bookish peacenik into full-blown general. It's one of the most subtle character transformations in recent years and Rahim, who took on a similar transformation in A Prophet, makes it seamless. Once again, Rahim's skill is a hard one to explain: without drawing attention to his performance, Rahim transforms from a nondescript bookworm into the saviour of the kingdom without any histrionics. In what is almost a tongue in cheek turn, a raspy Antonio has a ball here as peers out from under his headdress to smoulder and mumble 'hmmm' before retreating again at his own pace. Oddly, Banderas, whether you believe him as an Arab or not, is one of the great things about Black Gold. Strong might be more believable as an Arab than his on-screen nemesis but he's no match for Banderas in the scenery-chewing game.

Black Gold seems to forget all about Big Oil and the ramifications of its presence in later years, but there's enough going on to overlook that misstep. Expect this to be a staple of Sunday afternoons TV in the near future.