IMDb RATING
6.3/10
6.3K
YOUR RATING
A young program coordinator at the United Nations stumbles upon a conspiracy involving Iraq's oil reserves.A young program coordinator at the United Nations stumbles upon a conspiracy involving Iraq's oil reserves.A young program coordinator at the United Nations stumbles upon a conspiracy involving Iraq's oil reserves.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
Daniela Lavender Kingsley
- Ruth Zekra Kal
- (as Daniela Lavender)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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Everybody knew this was a corrupt operation - I was in Baghdad in 97 and met some UN observers one told me when she went to the warehouses to check and they were empty, her bosses said to her "shut up and take your money"....there were some highly moral people hi up in the UN though like Dennis Halliday, Hans von Sponeck and Jutta Burghardt, of WFP who like the other two resigned. A very shameful time for the UN and of course the people of Iraq who still suffer to this day. This story needs to be told and the film should be pushed but it wont be...........
It may be inevitable that a true story involving serious issues will be hard pressed to be as good a "yarn" as one made just for the action and excitement. This highly worthwhile and fully attention-holding film has suffered from unfair comparison with pure entertainment films. It is well for us to be reminded from time to time, what misery and devastation venal US foreign policy has wreaked in various regions. The present asymmetrical cyber-warfare on our political institutions is largely blow-back. I hate to think that the Trump presidency may at least have prevented a repeat of this film's appalling scenario perpetrated upon Iran.
By the way, be sure to notice Belçim Bilgin as the femme fatale--a Turkish actress paradoxically cast as a Kurd. Oh well.
The movie backstabbing for beginners is not half as bad as some reviews have it. sure it does not invent the diplomacy thriller anew, but its solid handwork, a good production and the sets were good too. i was a bit irritated by ben kingsleys constant swearing, it would not befit a real high diplomat to use such foul language in public all the time. overall is a watchable film about a young idealistic guy getting assigned to a supposed dream job. but sooner than he imagined, he is caught up in the confusion that any multi billion dollar program and high politics bring along. whom can he believe? is it possible for one man to make a difference in a fight against corruption and greed? see for yourself
This film tells the story of a young diplomat who navigates an impossible maze of lies, deceit and death threats.
The diplomat is in a huge dilemma, but he navigates the situation well and ends up way more fortunate than many others in the film. The film is a little slow, and can use tighter editing. Still, it is an interesting film to watch.
The diplomat is in a huge dilemma, but he navigates the situation well and ends up way more fortunate than many others in the film. The film is a little slow, and can use tighter editing. Still, it is an interesting film to watch.
7apjc
It's predictable but interesting enough to see it through. Fails to name names other than the usual sacrificial scapegoat major organisations toss out to the wolves - I.E. press and public. The U.N. is generally considered a useless talking shop, but there's literally billions of pounds sloshing around it's various departments. This film retells what is the tip of the iceberg, add in national foreign aid programmes you understand why certain leaders of poor countries end up with more income than the nations GDP. To paraphrase Churchill, capitalism is awful but it's the best we've got. I do agree with others who mentioned the pointless even annoying expletives used by the Kingsley character. Some points yes it would have been effective, but you end up thinking is he some old school mafia boss or a U.N. under secretary.
Did you know
- TriviaJosh Hutcherson was set to play the lead role in this movie, but when co-Writer and Director Per Fly informed him they would be shooting in Morocco and Jordan, Hutcherson dropped out because of safety reasons.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
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- Also known as
- Backstabbing for Beginners
- Filming locations
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $367,000
- Runtime
- 1h 48m(108 min)
- Color
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