Lord of War

I watched this powerful and absorbing film about a world–class arms dealer, played by Nicolas Cage, on DVD last night.

It's said to be based on a true story and I have no doubt that is so.

I mean, someone has to be selling all the armaments to the wretched nations of the earth's "freedom fighters," as the film sardonically notes.

The opening sequence is terrific: you do not want to be at the refreshment stand or visiting the W.C. once the film starts to roll.

Ethan Hawke, whom I didn't recognize until halfway through the movie, so different does he look playing a buzz–cut, frustrated, by–the–books Interpol operative trying to catch Cage's arms dealer in the act and put him away forever, is excellent.

The most interesting point made by the film: that the end of the Cold War was the jumping–off point for the spread of guns and ammo et al big–time around the globe.

Because there were an awful lot of lethal weapons sitting around NIB (new in box, a term I'm told is part of the lingua franca of eBay) with no place to go and nothing to do.

Enter arms brokers, prepared to move those munitions anywhere to anyone at any time.

Very sobering.

As Cage's character remarks, at the very beginning of the film, "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?'"