Black Gold is in UK cinemas now. We loved the movie and you can see our review of it here. The movie has a fabulous cast and our friend James Kleinmann got to chat with many of them including Mark Strong, Antonio Banderas and Tahar Rahim in these great interviews for the movie. He also got to chat with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud who you’ll know from previous works such as Enemy at the Gates, and Seven Years in Tibet.
During the interviews, we get to hear from some of the fabulous male side of the cast who talk about what first attracted them to the movie, some of the challenges they had to overcome and what it was like filming a movie based on such a topical subject. They also all talk about the traditional way in which the movie was shot and working with such a fabulous cast.
From Annaud, we hear about where the story came from originally, how the story evolved into the movie that is Black Gold and why he felt the need to make the movie and how it eventually got made.
Under the unforgiving desert sky, two warring leaders come face to face. The bodies of their warriors litter the battlefield. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika (ANTONIO BANDERAS), lays down his peace terms to his rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah (MARK STRONG). The two men agree that neither may lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return and according to the tribal customs of the time, Nesib will “adopt”- or take hostage- Amar’s two boys Saleeh (AKIN GAZI) and Auda (TAHAR RAHIM); a guarantee that neither man can invade the other. Years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American oil man from Texas (COREY JOHNSON). He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his imagination.
Check out the interviews below and if you’ve seen Black Gold, let us know what you thought of the movie in the comments section below.
