After centuries of Western domination, the waterways of the Middle East are now being contested in unprecedented ways. Pirates are roaming sea lanes. Local powers are threatening chokepoints. And the people are rising up to bring their authoritarian rulers down. With no simple solutions for maintaining control of oil flows, the West is facing a crucial decision. Already weakened by extended military interventions, faltering economies, and strained global partnerships, the US and Europe must decide whether violent intervention or benevolent passivity is the best course of action.
Canadian filmmaker Alexandre Trudeau's fascinating documentary The New Great Game charts these turbulent waters to show how the logic of empire is being tested by a rapidly changing Middle East. With fresh-from-the-ground footage and testimony from experts and actors in the region, the film zeroes in on how disparate events occurring on land in such places as Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Yemen, and at sea in the Gulf of Aden, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea, are all part of the same story -- a story about conflict, change, and competing global interests in one of the most strategic and volatile regions of the world.
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