One of the most interesting films I’ve ever seen is a movie called Lord of War. Essentially it’s about the arms trade and how countries buy and sell their weapons. The film is officially endorsed by Amnesty International for highlighting arms trafficking by the international arms industry.
Made in 2005, this R-Rated film follows the rise and fall of Yuri Orlov, played by Nicholas Cage. It shows his very first gun sale, where he explains;
Selling a gun for the first time is a lot like having sex for the first time. You’re excited but you don’t really know what the hell you’re doing. And some way, one way or another, it’s over too fast.
Yuri Orlov, Lord of War 2005
Wait – It’s actually interesting I promise!
If you are a trailer lover – check out this one and get your fill!
See! I knew you’d come around. It’s almost like I knew you’d like it.
Now, I’m no expert but this film actually has some historical… accuracy. The plot details on the illegal arms trade, and in particular the purchases for West Africa in the early 1990’s, are really close to the actual people, and their stories, from the former Soviet Union.
Yuri Orlov is actually loosely based on a handful of people. The first being a Lebanese-Armenian arm dealer, Sarkis Soghanalian who was a world arms dominator. His last name, Orlov, is taken from Russian businessman Oleg Orlov, who was arrested in Ukraine on suspicion of smuggling missiles into Iran. The History Channel claims that Orlov’s life is based on convicted arms dealer, Viktor Bout, who is notorious for smuggling arms and other merchandise through aviation-company fronts and the background of Orlov is loosely inspired by a Ukrainian-born mastermind in Russian organised crime, Semion Mogilevich.
Plus it opens with one of the most shocking facts I’ve ever heard, followed by an interesting question –
There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That’s one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11?
Yuri Orlov, Lord of War 2005
As I said, this is an R-Rated film. Expect violence and an insight into the arms trade you may not have had before. I think this makes a great movie for groups of mates who enjoy a challenging discussion about the world, that they may not have had before. Mature teens wanting to understand more about the darker side of the human race may enjoy the thought-provoking questions asked in the film and it could open up a conversation around how to comprehend the world around them; but as always – your kids, your choice.
The movie has some great lines that might just become an ongoing inside joke for you and your call of duty friends. It really might…
The character Andre Baptiste, Sr. is partly based on the president of Liberia until 2003, Charles Taylor and his son Andre Baptiste Jr. is partly based on his son, Charles McArther Emmanuel. Oh, and the gold-plated AK-47? That was just like the one found in the quarters of Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday Hussein, during the US invasion of Iraq. The film also hints that the character Colonel Oliver Southern is based on Oliver North, known for his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal.
The conflicts you see in the film are all actual conflicts that took place in our history, particularly those in Lebanon, Sudan, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Colombia, Liberia and of course, Afghanistan! BUT (there’s always a but!), the image of Interpol as an acting security agency is all made up, fictional!
I find that considering this film was made in 2005 and it still has such an accurate portrait of the arms trade, it’s something that everyone in the world should watch. The Arms industry is a huge empire that causes hundreds of millions of deaths every century and America, one of the biggest gun-loving nations in the world, is at the forefront of the trade.
Of all the weapons in the vast soviet arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947. More commonly known as the AK-47, or Kalashnikov. It’s the world’s most popular assault rifle. A weapon all fighters love. An elegantly simple 9 pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood. It doesn’t break, jam, or overheat. It’ll shoot whether it’s covered in mud or filled with sand. It’s so easy, even a child can use it; and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their flag. Since the end of the Cold War, the Kalashnikov has become the Russian people’s greatest export. After that comes vodka, caviar, and suicidal novelists. One thing is for sure, no one was lining up to buy their cars.
Yuri Orlov, Lord of War 2005
It all comes down to this, if there aren’t any guns and there aren’t any invasions of other countries, how many more people would be alive today? Perhaps, instead of creating newer and faster ways to kill people, we should be using all that time and money to fund more humanitarian programs – like feeding the hungry in America, the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia and every other country where people cannot afford to buy food – or helping the homeless, which is a HUGE issue for American Veterans – you know the people who use the guns to kill all those innocent people to begin with?
I don’t know, I’m just some person living in Australia speaking their thoughts… but at the end of the day, we’re no longer going into space, millions of people go hungry every day, Ebola’s back (cuz that was a fun time) – and yet we’re still creating new weapons of mass destruction…. It all seems a little backwards to me.
Till next time.