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Syriana

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Source: Catholic News Service

Intermittently engaging but mostly confusing political thriller which explores corruption in the international oil industry through a mosaic of interlocking stories involving: a veteran CIA operative (George Clooney); a reform-minded Arab sheik (Alexander Siddig); an energy analyst (Matt Damon) grieving the death of his son, and a Washington lawyer (Jeffrey Wright), hired to facilitate a shady merger between two Texas oil giants. Directed with unvarnished realism by Stephen Gaghan, the well-acted film touches on important moral questions about the global pursuit of wealth, but strains for narrative coherence under the weight of its convoluted multiple plots. Strong violence, including a graphic scene of torture, and some rough language and profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted.

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Matt Talbot: Matt can be considered the patron of men and women struggling with alcoholism.
<p>Matt was born in Dublin, where his father worked on the docks and had a difficult time supporting his family. After a few years of schooling, Matt obtained work as a messenger for some liquor merchants; there he began to drink excessively. For 15 years—until he was almost 30—Matt was an active alcoholic. </p><p>One day he decided to take "the pledge" for three months, make a general confession and begin to attend daily Mass. There is evidence that Matt’s first seven years after taking the pledge were especially difficult. Avoiding his former drinking places was hard. He began to pray as intensely as he used to drink. He also tried to pay back people from whom he had borrowed or stolen money while he was drinking. </p><p>Most of his life Matt worked as a builder’s laborer. He joined the Secular Franciscan Order and began a life of strict penance; he abstained from meat nine months a year. Matt spent hours every night avidly reading Scripture and the lives of the saints. He prayed the rosary conscientiously. Though his job did not make him rich, Matt contributed generously to the missions. </p><p>After 1923 his health failed, and Matt was forced to quit work. He died on his way to church on Trinity Sunday. Fifty years later Pope Paul VI gave him the title venerable.</p>

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